83فَلَمّا جاءَتهُم رُسُلُهُم بِالبَيِّناتِ فَرِحوا بِما عِندَهُم مِنَ العِلمِ وَحاقَ بِهِم ما كانوا بِهِ يَستَهزِئونَMuhammad Asadfor when their apostles came to them with all evidence of the truth, they arrogantly exulted in whatever knowledge they [already] possessed:1 and [so, in the end,] they were overwhelmed by the very thing which they were wont to deride.2I.e., they were fully satisfied with their own empirically or speculatively acquired or inherited knowledge; and so, in their arrogant conviction that man is "self-sufficient" and, therefore, not in need of any guidance by a Power beyond the reach of human perception, they rejected whatever ethical and spiritual truths were offered them by the prophets.I.e,, the idea of God's existence and inescapable judgment: see 6:10 and the corresponding note 9.