Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ¹  has brought you these forty years through the desert ²  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 ³  and eventually bring good to you.

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ⁴  has brought you these forty years through the desert ⁵  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 32:31

32:31 For our enemies’ ⁶  rock is not like our Rock,

as even our enemies concede.

Job 23:10

23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; ⁷ 

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. ⁸ 

Proverbs 17:3

17:3 The crucible ⁹  is for refining ¹⁰  silver and the furnace ¹¹  is for gold,

likewise ¹²  the Lord tests ¹³  hearts.

Jeremiah 6:27

6:27 The Lord said to me, ¹⁴ 

“I have made you like a metal assayer

to test my people like ore. ¹⁵ 

You are to observe them

and evaluate how they behave.” ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 17:9-10

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. ¹⁷  Who can understand it?

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. ¹⁸ 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Zechariah 13:9

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹⁹ 

John 2:24

2:24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people. ²⁰ 

John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ²¹  in Galilee. ²²  Jesus’ mother ²³  was there,

John 1:7

1:7 He came as a witness ²⁴  to testify ²⁵  about the light, so that everyone ²⁶  might believe through him.

John 4:12

4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor ²⁷  Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” ²⁸ 

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²⁹  with a deadly disease, ³⁰  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³¹  each one of you ³²  what your deeds deserve. ³³ 

[8:2]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ² tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[8:16]  ³ tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.

[8:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ⁵ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[32:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “their,” but the referent (enemies) is specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[23:10]  ⁷ tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.

[23:10]  ⁸ tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).

[17:3]  ⁹ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ¹⁰ tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ¹¹ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ¹³ sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[6:27]  ¹⁴ tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Note “I have appointed you.” Compare Jer 1:18.

[6:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I have made you an assayer of my people, a tester [?].” The meaning of the words translated “assayer” (בָּחוֹן, bakhon) and “tester” (מִבְצָר, mivtsar) is uncertain. The word בָּחוֹן (bakhon) can mean “tower” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן; cf. Isa 23:13 for the only other use) or “assayer” (cf. BDB 103 s.v. בָּחוֹן). The latter would be the more expected nuance because of the other uses of nouns and verbs from this root. The word מִבְצָר (mivtsar) normally means “fortress” (cf. BDB 131 s.v. מִבְצָר), but most modern commentaries and lexicons deem that nuance inappropriate here. HALOT follows a proposal that the word is to be repointed to מְבַצֵּר (mÿvatser) and derived from a root בָּצַר (batsar) meaning “to test” (cf. HALOT 143 s.v. IV בָּצַר). That proposal makes the most sense in the context, but the root appears nowhere else in the OT.

[6:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “test their way.”

[17:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).

[17:10]  ¹⁸ tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.

[13:9]  ¹⁹ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[2:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” has been supplied for clarity, since the Greek word πάντας (pantas) is masculine plural (thus indicating people rather than things).

[2:1]  ²¹ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:1]  ²² sn Cana in Galilee was not a very well-known place. It is mentioned only here, in 4:46, and 21:2, and nowhere else in the NT. Josephus (Life 16 [86]) says he once had his quarters there. The probable location is present day Khirbet Cana, 8 mi (14 km) north of Nazareth, or Khirbet Kenna, 4 mi (7 km) northeast of Nazareth.

[2:1]  ²³ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”

[1:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “all.”

[4:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”

[4:12]  ²⁸ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end. In this instance all of v. 12 is one question. It has been broken into two sentences for the sake of English style (instead of “for he” the Greek reads “who”).

[2:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³² sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³³ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”