The People of the Scripture ask you to bring down to them a book from the heaven. But they had asked of Moses [even] greater than that and said, "Show us Allah outright," so the thunderbolt struck them for their wrongdoing. Then they took the calf [for worship] after clear evidences had come to them, and We pardoned that. And We gave Moses a clear authority. 153 And We raised the Mount above them, and took covenant with them, and We said: 'Enter in at the gate, prostrating', and We said to them, 'Do not transgress the Sabbath', and We took from them a solemn covenant. 154 Accursed are they then for their breach of the bond and their rejecting the commandments of Allah and their slaying the prophets without justification, and their saying: our hearts are uncircumcised. Aye! Allah hath set a seal upon them for their infidelity, wherefore they believe not but a little. 155 Their hearts were also sealed because of their lack of faith, their gravely slanderous accusation against Mary, 156 and their saying: 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary', the Messenger of Allah - whereas in fact they had neither slain him nor crucified him but the matter was made dubious to them - and those who differed about it too were in a state of doubt! They have no definite knowledge of it, but merely follow conjecture; and they surely slew him not, 157 Rather, Allah raised him up to Him. Allah is Almighty, the Wise. 158 Yet there is not one of the followers of earlier revelation who does not, at the moment of his death, grasp the truth about Jesus; and on the Day of Resurrection he [himself] shall bear witness to the truth against them. 159 For the wrong-doing of the Jews, We made unlawful to them certain good foods which has been lawful to them, and for their hindering many from Allah's Way; 160 for taking usury, when they had been forbidden to do so. And because of their devouring people's wealth wrongfully. We have prepared a painful punishment for those of them who [continue to] deny the truth. 161 But of them those well-grounded in the Knowledge and the believers believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee and that which hath been sent down before thee, and the establishers of prayer and the givers of the poor-rate and the believers in Allah and the Last Day - those: unto them anon We shall give a mighty hire. 162