The Quran

Preface

مِنَ الَّذينَ هادوا يُحَرِّفونَ الكَلِمَ عَن مَواضِعِهِ وَيَقولونَ سَمِعنا وَعَصَينا وَاسمَع غَيرَ مُسمَعٍ وَراعِنا لَيًّا بِأَلسِنَتِهِم وَطَعنًا فِي الدّينِ ۚ وَلَو أَنَّهُم قالوا سَمِعنا وَأَطَعنا وَاسمَع وَانظُرنا لَكانَ خَيرًا لَهُم وَأَقوَمَ وَلٰكِن لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفرِهِم فَلا يُؤمِنونَ إِلّا قَليلًا

Yusuf Ali

Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places, and say: “We hear and we disobey”;¹ and “Hear what is not Heard”; and “Ra?ina”;² with a twist of their tongues and a slander to Faith. If only they had said: “What hear and we obey”; and “Do hear”; and “Do look at us”; it would have been better for them, and more proper; but God hath cursed them for their Unbelief; and but few of them will believe.

See 2:93, n. 98. A trick of the Jews was to twist words and expressions, so as to ridicule the most solemn teachings of Faith. Where they should have said, “We hear and we obey,” they said aloud, “We hear,” and whispered, “We disobey.” Where they should have said respectfully, “We hear,” they added in a whisper, “May you not hear,” by way of ridicule. Where they claimed the attention of the Teacher, they used an ambiguous word apparently harmless, but in their intention disrespectful. (R).
See 2:104, n. 106, Ra'ina if used respectfully in the Arabic way, would have meant “Please attend to us.” With a twist of their tongue, they suggested an insulting meaning, such as “O thou that takes us to pasture!” or in Hebrew, “Our bad one!”