And a faction of the People of the Scripture say [to each other], "Believe in that which was revealed to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end that perhaps they will abandon their religion, 72 And do not believe but in him who follows your religion. Say: Surely the (true) guidance is the guidance of Allah-- that one may be given (by Him) the like of what you were given; or they would contend with you by an argument before your Lord. Say: Surely grace is in the hand of Allah, He gives it to whom He pleases; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing. 73 He singleth out for His mercy whomsoever He will; and Allah is the Owner of Mighty Grace. 74 ۞ Among the People of the Scripture there is he who, if thou trust him with a weight of treasure, will return it to thee. And among them there is he who, if thou trust him with a piece of gold, will not return it to thee unless thou keep standing over him. That is because they say: We have no duty to the Gentiles. They speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly. 75 Yes, whoever fulfils his pledge and fears Allah much; verily, then Allah loves those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V. 2:2). 76 Those who accept abject prices in exchange of Allah’s covenant and their oaths, do not have a portion in the Hereafter – Allah will neither speak to them nor look towards them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and for them is a painful punishment. 77 And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is from Allah," but it is not from Allah. And they speak untruth about Allah while they know. 78 God would never give the Book, authority, or prophesy to any person who would tell others to be his servants instead of being the servants of God. He would rather tell them to worship God for they had been teaching and studying the Book. 79 And neither did he bid you to take the angels and the prophets for your lords: [for] would he bid you to deny the truth after you have surrendered yourselves unto God? 80