۞ And assuredly Allah took a bond from the Children of Isra'il, and We raised from amongst them twelve wardens. And Allah said: verily I am with you, if ye establish prayer and give the poor-rate and believe in My apostles and support them and lend unto Allah a goodly loan, I shall surely expiate for you your misdeeds and surely shall make you enter the Gardens whereunder rivers flow; then whosoever of you shall disbelieve thereafter, he hath surely strayed from the level way. 12 So We cursed them because of them constantly breaking their covenant, and hardened their hearts; they shift the Words of Allah from their places, and have forgotten a large portion of the advices that were given to them; and you will constantly learn of deceits from them, except a few; so forgive them and excuse them; indeed Allah loves the virtuous. 13 And of them who say: verily we are Nazarenes, We took a bond from them, but they have abandoned a good portion of that wherewith they were admonished. Wherefore We have occasioned enmity and hatred amongst them till the Day of Judgement, and presently Allah shall declare unto them that which they have been performing. 14 People of the Book! Our Messenger (Muhammad) has come to clarify to you much of what you have hidden of the Book, and to forgive you much. A light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book, 15 through which God shows unto all that seek His goodly acceptance the paths leading to salvation and by His grace, brings them out of the depths of darkness into the light and guides them onto a straight way. 16 Assuredly they have disbelieved who say: verily God! He is the Masih, son of Maryam. Say thou; who can avail in aught against Allah, if He intended to destroy Masih, son of Maryam, and his mother and those on the earth altogether? And Allah's is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and that which is in between the twain. He createth whatsoever He will, and Allah is over everything Potent. 17 And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your faults? Nay, you are mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases; and Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual coming. 18 O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger to make clear to you [the religion] after a period [of suspension] of messengers, lest you say, "There came not to us any bringer of good tidings or a warner." But there has come to you a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And Allah is over all things competent. 19