﴿ وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِىٓ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْا۟ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّوا۟ قَالُوا۟ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ ﴾

“although [later,] when they would smite their hands in remorse, having perceived that they had gone astray, they would say, "Indeed, unless our Sustainer have mercy on us and grant us forgiveness, we shall most certainly be among the lost!"”

And when they became at a loss that is when they became remorseful for having worshipped it and saw and realised that they had gone astray thereby and this was after Moses’s return from the communion they said ‘Unless our Lord is merciful to us and forgives us read both verbs either in the third person singular or in the second person singular verily we shall be among the losers’.