According to Taberî, this verse exempts from those who conceal the knowledge they possess regarding the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad and deny the truth, those who repent and affirm Allah's oneness and the Prophet, reform their deeds and obey Allah's commands, and openly declare the truth they had concealed. These people are excluded from Allah's curse and their repentance is accepted. He rejects the view that the expression 'declaring' in the verse only means explaining the performance of deeds with sincerity, because the context and surrounding verses of the verse are related to the concealment by the People of the Book of knowledge about Prophet Muhammad.

ودليل ظاهر الكتاب والتنزيل بخلافه، لأن القوم إنما عوتبوا قبل هذه الآية على كتمانهم ما أنزل الله تعالى ذكره وبينه في كتابه في أمر محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ودينه.

According to this exegete, the expression in question is an exception made from the group of transgressors mentioned previously; that is, this portion in the verse is excluded from the ruling on transgressors.

استثناء من الفاسقين . ويدل عليه قوله :

According to this text, there is disagreement about whether the exception in the verse applies to all the preceding rulings or only to the last sentence; according to Abû Hanîfah the exception applies only to the last sentence, while according to al-Shâfi'î it applies to all. Furthermore, the nature of repentance from the crime of slander (qazf) has been discussed, and according to al-Shâfi'î repentance is the person's denial of their own words, while his companions disagreed about how this should be done. It was also noted that after repentance, a period of one year of good conduct must pass for the acceptance of testimony.

فعند أبي حنيفة رحمه الله الاستثناء المذكور عقيب الجمل الكثيرة مختص بالجملة الأخيرة ، وعند الشافعي رحمه الله يرجع إلى الكل

According to Kurtubî, in this verse Allah has exempted those who repent and prove it through their deeds and words. According to him, merely saying 'I have repented' is not sufficient; the person must practically demonstrate the opposite of their previous condition: if an apostate, they should return to Islam and openly practice its law; if a sinner, they should display righteous deeds and separate from those who cause corruption; if an idolater, they should separate from them and integrate with Muslims. Regarding the expression 'declaring,' some scholars interpreted this as pouring out wine, while others interpreted it as explaining the reports in the Torah about Prophet Muhammad's prophethood, and Kurtubî preferred the more general view from these two opinions (demonstrating the opposite of one's previous condition).

ولا يكفي في التوبة عند علمائنا قول القائل : قد تبت حتى يظهر منه في الثاني خلاف الأول فإن كان مرتدا رجع إلى الإسلام مظهرا شرائعه

According to Ibn Kesîr, this verse shows that even those who call to disbelief or heresy will have Allah accept their repentance if they repent, reform their deeds, and openly declare to people the truth they had concealed. This was not the case in the previous nations, and this merciful ruling is a special characteristic of the law of the Prophet.

وفى هذا دلالة على أن الداعية إلى كفر أو بدعة إذا تاب إلى الله تاب الله عليه وقد ورد أن الأمم السالفة لم تكن التوبة تقبل من مثل هؤلاء منهم ولكن هذا من شريعة نبى التوبة ونبى الرحمة صلوات الله وسلامه عليه

According to Beydâwî, those intended in this verse are the Jewish scholars of religious law (ahbâr) who conceal the clear proofs and means of guidance in the Torah regarding Prophet Muhammad's prophethood. These people deserve the curse of both Allah and the angels and the assembly of humans and jinn because they conceal the truth that Allah has declared in His books. However, those who repent, repair the harm they have caused, and openly declare the truth they had concealed are exempted from this curse; Allah accepts their repentance.

إن الذين يكتمون كأحبار اليهود. مآ أنزلنا من البينات كالآيات الشاهدة على أمر محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم. والهدى وما يهدي إلى وجوب اتباعه والإيمان به.