The hypocrites seek to outwit God -- but it is He who outwits them. And when they stand up for prayer, they do so reluctantly and to be seen by others, and they hardly remember God at all. 142 (They are) distracted in mind even in the midst of it,- being (sincerely) for neither one group nor for another whom Allah leaves straying,- never wilt thou find for him the way. 143 O you who believe! do not take the unbelievers for friends rather than the believers; do you desire that you should give to Allah a manifest proof against yourselves? 144 Surely the hypocrites are in the lowest stage of the fire and you shall not find a helper for them. 145 But those who repent and mend their ways, who hold fast to God and are sincere in their worship of God will be joined with the believers; and God will bestow a great reward upon the believers. 146 And what will Allah gain by punishing you, if you acknowledge the truth and accept faith? And Allah is Most Appreciative, All Knowing. 147 ۞ God does not love public accusation unless one is truly wronged. God is All-hearing and All-knowing. 148 Whether you act virtuously, in public or in private, or pardon (people's) faults, God is All-forgiving and All-powerful. 149 Those who believe not in God and His apostles, and desire to differentiate between God and His messengers, and say: "We believe in some and not in the others," and wish to find a way (between affirmation and denial), 150 These: they are the infidels in very truth, and We have gotten ready for the infidels a torment ignominious. 151 But those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of them, unto them Allah will give their wages; and Allah was ever Forgiving, Merciful. 152