أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا لَكُمْ وَقَدْ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُونَهُ مِن بَعْدِ مَا عَقَلُوهُ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
Afatatma'oona any yu'minoo lakum wa qad kaana fareequm minhum yasma'oona kalaamal laahi summa yuharrifoonahoo mim ba'di maa 'aqaloohu wa hum ya'lamoon
Do you really hope they will believe you, when a group of them used to hear the word of God and then distort it after they had understood it, knowing full well what they were doing?
Taḥrīf, the term this verse supplies, became the standing word in later argument for what happens to earlier scripture, and Muslim scholars have long divided over whether it names alteration of a written text or of its interpretation. Both readings were held by major figures and the verse does not settle it. The clause about knowing full well places the act after understanding rather than in ignorance.