Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 5 Al-Ma'idah, Ayat 78-79
لُعِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا مِنۡۢ بَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ عَلٰى لِسَانِ دَاوٗدَ وَعِيۡسَى ابۡنِ مَرۡيَمَ ؕ ذٰ لِكَ بِمَا عَصَوْا وَّكَانُوۡا يَعۡتَدُوۡنَ
﴿5:78﴾
كَانُوۡا لَا يَتَـنَاهَوۡنَ عَنۡ مُّنۡكَرٍ فَعَلُوۡهُ ؕ لَبِئۡسَ مَا كَانُوۡا يَفۡعَلُوۡنَ
﴿5:79﴾
(5:78) Those of the Children of Israel who took to unbelief have been cursed
by the tongue of David and Jesus, son of Mary, for they rebelled and exceeded
the bounds of right. (5:79) They did not forbid each other from committing the abominable deeds
they committed.102 Indeed what they did was evil.
Notes
102. The corruption of any nation begins with that of a few individuals.
If the collective conscience of that nation is alive, the pressure of public
opinion keeps those persons in check and prevents the nation as a whole from
becoming corrupted. But if instead of censuring such individuals, the nation
leaves them free to behave corruptly, the corruption originally confined to
a few continues to spread till it engulfs the whole nation. It was this which
ultimately caused the degeneration of Israel. (For the curse against Israel
in the words of David and Jesus see Psalms 10, 50 and Matthew 23.)