Deuteronomy 6:16

Exhortation to Obey the Lord Exclusively

6:16 You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹ 

Psalms 95:9

95:9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, ² 

and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.

Psalms 106:14

106:14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving ³  for meat; ⁴ 

they challenged God ⁵  in the desert.

Malachi 3:15

3:15 So now we consider the arrogant to be happy; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. ⁶  In fact, those who challenge ⁷  God escape!’”

Matthew 4:7

4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸ 

Matthew 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ⁹  to be tempted by the devil.

Colossians 1:9

Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church

1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, ¹⁰  have not ceased praying for you and asking God ¹¹  to fill ¹²  you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Hebrews 3:8-9

3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

3:9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me, ¹³  and they saw my works for forty years.

[6:16]  ¹ sn The place name Massah (מַסָּה, massah) derives from a root (נָסָה, nasah) meaning “to test; to try.” The reference here is to the experience in the Sinai desert when Moses struck the rock to obtain water (Exod 17:1-2). The complaining Israelites had, thus, “tested” the Lord, a wickedness that gave rise to the naming of the place (Exod 17:7; cf. Deut 9:22; 33:8).

[95:9]  ² tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”

[106:14]  ³ sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.

[106:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”

[106:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “they tested God.”

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “built up” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “prosper”; NLT “get rich.”

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Or “test”; NRSV, CEV “put God to the test.”

[4:7]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 6:16.

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Or “desert.”

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.

[3:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “tested me by trial.”