Deuteronomy 6:16
in Deuteronomy 6Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
KJV
Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 6
Commentary
4 notes on this verseYe shall not tempt the Lord your God,.... By striving with him or against him, by murmuring at or complaining of his providential dealings with them, or by requiring a sign of him, or miracles to be done by him; this is another passage used by Christ to repel the temptations of Satan, Mat 4:7, as tempted him in Massah; a place so called from the Israelites tempting the Lord there, Exo 17:7, the Targum of Jonathan adds, with ten temptations; see Num 14:21.
This site's exposition
Do not test the LORD your God
Jesus answers the second temptation with this verse at Matthew 4:7. Massah is Exodus 17:7, where Israel asked whether the LORD was among them or not and Moses named the place after the question. The answer given in a wilderness therefore quotes a failure in a wilderness.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
24 And the L ORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the L ORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the L ORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v24-25
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Ye shall not tempt the Lord - Ye shall not provoke him by entertaining doubts of his mercy, goodness, providence, and truth. As ye tempted him in Massah - How did they tempt him in Massah? They said, Is the Lord among us or not? Exo 17:1-7. After such proofs as they had of his presence and his kindness, this was exceedingly provoking. Doubting God’s kindness where there are so many evidences of it, is highly insulting to God Almighty.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְנַסּ֔וּ | tenasu | you will put to [the] test | H5254 → | 36 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִסִּיתֶ֖ם | nisitem | you put [him] to [the] test | H5254 → | 36 times |
| בַּמַּסָּֽה׃ | bamasah | at <the> Massah | H4532 → | 5 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תְנַסּ֔וּyou will put to [the] test
tenasuH5254 →36 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
נִסִּיתֶ֖םyou put [him] to [the] test
nisitemH5254 →36 times
בַּמַּסָּֽה׃at <the> Massah
bamasahH4532 →5 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 4:7Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 17:2
So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:41
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
- Psalms 78:18
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
- Hebrews 3:9
where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
Through
Exodus 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?”
it leads to
- Psalms 81:7
You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
- Numbers 20:13
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.
- Psalms 95:8
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Psalms 81:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.