How can the description of the believers as foolish by the hypocrites in verse 13 of Surat Al-Baqarah be reconciled with their saying, "We believe," to the believers in verse 14 of the same surah, knowing that hypocrisy entails concealing disbelief and outwardly showing faith?

The statement of Allah the Almighty: ﴿And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?"﴾ does not mean that the hypocrites openly revealed their inner thoughts. Rather, they would say this in private amongst themselves, and Allah informed His Prophet and the believers of it. This is as stated by Ibn Atiyah, Al-Baghawi, Al-Qurtubi, and Al-Wahidi.

Alternatively, they did not articulate this statement explicitly, but rather conveyed something that implies this meaning, as in the words of Allah the Almighty: ﴿And you will surely recognize them by the tone of [their] speech.﴾

Some exegetes have interpreted these verses as referring to the Jews, not to the hypocrites.