63لَولا يَنهاهُمُ الرَّبّانِيّونَ وَالأَحبارُ عَن قَولِهِمُ الإِثمَ وَأَكلِهِمُ السُّحتَ ۚ لَبِئسَ ما كانوا يَصنَعونَMuhammad AsadWhy do not their men of God and their rabbis1 forbid them to make sinful assertions and to swallow all that is evil? Vile indeed is what they contrive!According to Baghawi', the rabbaniyun ("men of God" - see surah 3, note 62) stand, in this 156 context, for the spiritual leaders of the Christians, and the ahbar for the Jewish scholars ("rabbis"). Regarding the "swallowing of evil", see note 54 above.