149وَلَمّا سُقِطَ في أَيديهِم وَرَأَوا أَنَّهُم قَد ضَلّوا قالوا لَئِن لَم يَرحَمنا رَبُّنا وَيَغفِر لَنا لَنَكونَنَّ مِنَ الخاسِرينَMuhammad Asadalthough [later,] when they would smite their hands in remorse,1 having perceived that they had gone astray, they would say, "Indeed, unless our Sustainer have mercy on us and grant us forgiveness, we shall most certainly be among the lost!"2Lit., "when it was made to fall upon their hands"- an idiomatic phrase denoting intense remorse, probably derived from the striking ("falling") of hand upon hand as an expression of grief or regret.The whole of verse 149 is a parenthetic clause (jumlah mu'taridah) referring to a later time - for the repentance of the Israelites came after Moses' return from Mount Sinai, of which the next verse speaks.