Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:70
We had already taken the covenant of the Children of Israel and had sent to them messengers. Whenever there came to them a messenger with what their souls did not desire, a party [of messengers] they denied, and another party they killed.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying: Wij hadden waarlijk het verbond aangenomen van de Kinderen van Israël en Wij zonden tot hen boodschappers. Telkens wanneer een boodschapper tot hen kwam met iets wat hun zielen niet begeerden, beschuldigden zij een deel van hen van leugen en doodden een ander deel (5:70). (This means: We had indeed taken the covenant of the Children of Israel and We sent messengers to them. Every time a messenger came to them with something their souls did not desire, they declared one group liars and killed another group.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: I swear: We had indeed taken the covenant of the Children of Israel concerning sincere devotion in professing Our oneness (tawḥīd), and acting upon that which We commanded them, and abstaining from that which We forbade them. And We sent messengers to them for that purpose, and We promised them, by the mouths of Our messengers sent to them, the abundant reward for acting in obedience to Us, and We warned them against acting in disobedience to Us with the severe punishment. Every time a messenger of Ours came to them with something their souls did not desire and which did not accord with their affection, they declared a group of them liars, and they killed a group of them, in violation of Our covenant which We had taken from them, and out of insolence toward Us and in defiance of Our command.
