Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let us not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.
- BSB We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- NKJV nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
- NASB Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were killed by the snakes.
- NLT Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul warns against testing Christ as Israel tested the LORD in the wilderness and died from serpents. Presuming on God's patience invites judgment.
Overview
Recalling Numbers 21, where Israel's grumbling brought venomous snakes, Paul strikingly names the one tested as 'Christ,' affirming Christ's presence with Israel in the wilderness. To 'test' God is to provoke him by doubting and demanding rather than trusting. The verse warns believers not to presume on grace, while the wider passage points to the cross, foreshadowed by the bronze serpent lifted up (John 3:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Num 21:5–6And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
- Ps 78:18And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
- Heb 3:8–11Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
- Exod 17:2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
- Deut 6:16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
- Exod 17:7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
- Ps 78:56Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies:
- Exod 23:20–21Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
- Ps 95:9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
- Ps 106:14But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
- Heb 10:28–30He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 10:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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