187 Preface وَإِذ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ ميثاقَ الَّذينَ أوتُوا الكِتابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنّاسِ وَلا تَكتُمونَهُ فَنَبَذوهُ وَراءَ ظُهورِهِم وَاشتَرَوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَليلًا ۖ فَبِئسَ ما يَشتَرونَYusuf AliAnd remember God took a covenant from the People of the Book,1 to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs,2 and purchased with it some miserable gain! And vile was the bargain they made! Truth-God’s Message-comes to any man or nation as a matter of sacred trust. It should be broadcast and published and taught and made clear to all within reach. Privileged priesthood at once erects a barrier. But worse-when such priesthood tampers with the truth, taking what suits it and ignoring the rest, it has sold God’s gift for a miserable ephemeral profit; how miserable, it will learn when Nemesis comes.Cf. 2:101.