nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
Parallel translations
- WEB Let us not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.
- KJV Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
- BSB We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- 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 21:5–6The people spoke against God, and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.”
- Ps 78:18They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire.
- Heb 3:8–11don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
- Exod 17:2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?”
- Deut 6:16You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.
- Exod 17:7He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarreled, and because they tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us, or not?”
- Ps 78:56Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies;
- Exod 23:20–21“Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
- Ps 95:9when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work.
- Ps 106:14but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.
- Heb 10:28–30A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of 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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