Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.
- KJV Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
- NKJV “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
- NASB “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
- NLT You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.
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
Israel must not test God as they did at Massah. Faith trusts God rather than putting him to the test.
Overview
Moses forbids testing God as Israel did at Massah, where they doubted his care and demanded proof (Exodus 17:1-7). Such testing reveals unbelief rather than trust. Jesus quotes this verse to resist the devil's temptation, modeling the faith that trusts God without demanding signs (Matthew 4:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 17:7He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Luke 4:12But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Matt 4:7Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Ps 95:8–9do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Heb 3:8–9do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
- 1 Cor 10:9We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- Exod 17:2So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
- Num 21:4–5Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey
- Num 20:13These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
- Num 20:3–4The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 6:16 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.