before him, bringing the manifest signs and the very offering that fire consumes; yet they killed them all the same. The discussion here turns on this type of people—those who rally to one another and follow one another’s path—such as the Jews, who still adhere to the religion of their forefathers who committed these acts.

Therefore He reproaches them in the second person, as in His words:
“And when We parted the sea for you, saved you, and drowned Pharaoh’s people while you were looking on.” ⦗al-Baqarah 50⦘

all the way to His saying:
“And when you said, ‘O Moses, we will never believe you until we see Allah openly.’” ⦗al-Baqarah 55⦘

The address is aimed at the entire nation of the Children of Israel, even though those who actually witnessed those events had already died. Then He said:
“If they belie you, [remember that] messengers before you were belied; they came with clear proofs, scrolls, and the radiant Book.” ⦗Āl ʿImrān 184⦘

Here He omits the agent and casts the verb in the passive voice, for the aim is to console and hearten the Messenger, not to detail the punishment of the deniers. For that reason, this wording is more specific than the previous one.