A group He guided, and they are those who submitted, meaning He granted them faith. And a group has become deserving of misguidance, meaning the word of misguidance. And Allah knew that they would go astray and not be guided. The phrase 'and a group' is in the nominative case due to an implied verb that is explained by what follows, as if it were said: 'And He forsook a group who became deserving of misguidance.' Indeed, the group that became deserving of misguidance took the devils as allies, meaning they obeyed them in what they commanded them to do. This is evidence that Allah's knowledge has no effect on their misguidance, and that they are the misguided by their own choice and by taking the devils as allies instead of Allah.