His saying, exalted is He, “And Allah is not unaware (nor neglectful) (1) of what you do,” is a warning and a threat. It is also said that He does not leave what you do unpunished; rather, He will requite you for it. Ibn Kathīr recited “they do” with a yāʾ, while the others recited it with a tāʾ.

“Do you then hope that they will believe you, when a group among them used to hear the word of Allah and then distort it after having understood it, while knowing full well? (75) When they meet those who believe, they say, ‘We believe.’ But when they are alone with one another, they say, ‘Do you tell them what Allah has disclosed to you, so that they may contend with you thereby before your Lord? Do you not understand?’ (76)”

His saying, exalted is He, “Do you then hope”—that is, do you hope? This addresses Muhammad and his Companions—“that they will believe you,” meaning that the Jews will believe you regarding what you tell them. “When a group among them used to hear the word of Allah,” namely, the Torah, “and then distort it”: they altered the rulings it contained “after having understood it,” that is, after knowing it—just as they altered the description of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the verse concerning stoning—“while knowing full well,” that they were lying. This is the view of Mujāhid, Qatādah, ʿIkrimah, al-Suddī, and a group of others. (2)

Ibn ʿAbbās and Muqātil said: It was revealed concerning the seventy whom Moses chose for the appointed meeting with his Lord. When they returned to their people after hearing the word of Allah, the people went back to their former assertion. As for those among them who were truthful, they conveyed it exactly as they had heard it. But one faction among them said, “We heard Allah say at the end of His speech: ‘If you are able to do it, then do it; but if you wish, then do not do it.’” This was their distortion, even though they knew that it was the truth. (3)

“When they meet those who believe”: Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Ḥasan, and Qatādah said that this refers to the hypocrites among the Jews, who professed faith with their tongues. When they met the sincere believers, “they said, ‘We believe’”—that is, as you believe. “But when they are alone,” that is, when some of them returned to others—to Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf, Kaʿb ibn Asad, Wahb ibn Yahūdā, and other Jewish leaders, who had instructed them to do this—“they said, ‘Do you tell them what Allah has disclosed to you?’” That is, what Allah has related to you in your Scripture: that Muhammad is true and that his words are true. The word fattāḥ means “judge.”

Al-Kisāʾī said: It means what Allah has made clear to you [of knowledge concerning the description and attributes of the Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace]. (4) Al-Wāqidī said: It means what Allah has sent down to you. A parallel is His saying, “We would have opened for them blessings from heaven” (44—al-Anʿām), meaning: We would have sent down. Abū ʿUbaydah said: It means what Allah has bestowed upon you and granted you. “So that they may contend with you thereby,” meaning, so that the Companions of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—may dispute with you and cite your own statement as proof.