(44–46) “Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They purchase misguidance and wish that you would lose the way.”

This censures those “who were given a portion of the Scripture,” while also warning His servants not to be deceived by them or fall into their snares. He informs us that they themselves “purchase misguidance”; that is, they love it intensely and prefer it as one who spends a great deal of wealth to obtain what he loves. Thus, they prefer misguidance to guidance, disbelief to faith, and misery to happiness. Moreover, “they wish that you would lose the way.”