۞ God made a covenant with the Children of Israel; and raised among them twelve leaders. God said, "Surely, I am with you. If you attend to your prayers and pay the alms and believe in My messengers and support them, and give a generous loan to God, I will certainly forgive you your sins and admit you into Gardens through which rivers flow. Whoever among you denies the truth after this shall go astray from the straight path." 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 We had taken the pledge of those also who call themselves Christians. But they too forgot to take advantage of the warning they were given. So We have caused enmity and hatred among them to last till the Day of Resurrection, when God will inform them of what they were doing. 14 People of the Book, Our Messenger has come to you. He tells you about the many things that you had been hiding of the Book and forgives you much. A light and a clarifying Book has come to you from God 15 whereby God guides to the ways of peace all who seek His good pleasure, bringing them from darkness to the light, by His will, and guiding them to a straight path. 16 They indeed have disbelieved who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say: Who then can do aught against Allah, if He had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? Allah's is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He createth what He will. And Allah is Able to do all things. 17 And [both] the Jews and the Christians say: "We are God's children, and His beloved ones." Say: "Why, then, does He cause you to suffer for your sins? Nay, you are but human beings of His creating. He forgives whom He wills, and He causes to suffer whom He wills: for God's is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and with Him is all journeys' end." 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