Exodus 15:25

15:25 He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him ¹  a tree. ²  When Moses ³  threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord ⁴  made for them ⁵  a binding ordinance, ⁶  and there he tested ⁷  them.

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ⁸  has brought you these forty years through the desert ⁹  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 8:16

8:16 fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you ¹⁰  and eventually bring good to you.

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ¹¹  to worship ¹²  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹³  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹⁴  worshiped ¹⁵  beyond the Euphrates, ¹⁶  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ¹⁷  will worship ¹⁸  the Lord!”

¹ tn The verb is וַיּוֹרֵהוּ (vayyorehu, “and he showed him”). It is the Hiphil preterite from יָרָה (yarah), which has a basic meaning of “to point, show, direct.” It then came to mean “to teach”; it is the verb behind the noun “Law” (תּוֹרָה, torah).

² tn Or “a [piece of] wood” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV); NLT “a branch.”

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “there he”; the referent (the Lord) is supplied for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “for him” (referring to Israel as a whole).

⁶ tn This translation interprets the two nouns as a hendiadys: “a statute and an ordinance” becomes “a binding ordinance.”

⁷ tn The verb נִסָּהוּ (nissahu, “and he tested him [them]”) is from the root נָסָה (nasah). The use of this word in the Bible indicates that there is question, doubt, or uncertainty about the object being tested.

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

¹⁰ tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.

¹¹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

¹² tn Or “to serve.”

¹³ tn Or “will serve.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

¹⁵ tn Or “served.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

¹⁷ tn Heb “house.”

¹⁸ tn Or “will serve.”