Hebrews 3:9

Hebrews 3:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
• New International Version (NIV)where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.
• English Standard Version (ESV)where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.

Context of Hebrews 3:9

7Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts as [your fathers did] in the rebellion [of Israel at Meribah], On the day of testing in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing [My forbearance and tolerance], And saw My works for forty years [And found I stood their test]. 10Therefore I was angered with this generation, And I said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways [nor become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them]’; 11So I swore [an oath] in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest [the promised land].’ ”

Hebrews 3:9 word by word

οὗ ἐπείρασαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἐν δοκιμασίᾳ καὶ εἶδον τὰ ἔργα μουRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whenοὗhou · whitherG3757
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• fathersὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• temptedπειράζωpeirazō · to test/tempt: testG3985
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• provedδοκιμάζωdokimazō · to testG1381
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• fortyτεσσαράκονταtessarakonta · fortyG5062
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094

Cross-references for Hebrews 3:9

• Exodus 19:4‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.
• Exodus 20:22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.
• Deuteronomy 4:3Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor; for all the men who followed [and participated in the worship of] Baal of Peor, the Lord your God destroyed them from among you,
• Deuteronomy 11:7For your eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.
• Deuteronomy 29:2Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land;
• Joshua 23:3And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you.
• Joshua 24:7When they cried out to the Lord [for help], He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time (forty years).
• Luke 7:22So He replied to them, “Go and tell John about everything you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news (gospel) preached to them.
• Numbers 14:33Your sons shall be wanderers and shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness (spiritual infidelity), until your corpses are consumed in the wilderness.
• Deuteronomy 8:2And you shall remember [always] all the ways which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart (mind), whether you would keep His commandments or not.
• Joshua 5:6For the Israelites walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, died because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord; to them the Lord had sworn [an oath] that He would not let them see the land which He had promised to their fathers to give us, a land [of abundance] flowing with milk and honey.
• Amos 2:10Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, And I led you forty years through the wilderness That you might possess the land of the Amorite.
• Acts 7:36This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
• Acts 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is how his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from accepting the faith.

Commentaries on Hebrews 3:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9When your fathers tempted me - It would be better to translate ̔ where than when, as the Vulgate has done in its ubi; and this translation has been followed by Wiclif, Coverdale, Tindal, and our first translators in general. In my old MS. Bible the 7th, 8th, and 9th verses stand thus: - Wherefore as the Holy Gost seith, to-day gif yhe han herde his voyce: nye yhe herden ghour hertis as in wrath-thinge, after the day of temptacioun in desert. Where ghoure…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Proved me - “As if they would have made an experiment how much it was possible for me to bear.” - Doddridge. The meaning is: “they put my patience to a thorough trial.” And saw my works - That is, my miracles, or my interpositions in their behalf. They saw the wonders at the Red Sea, the descent on Mount Sinai, the supply of manna, etc., and yet while seeing those works they rebelled. Even while sinners look on the doings of God, and are surrounded by the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God, when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, is a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing, privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10Even after witnessing the miracles God performed for them, the people of Israel tested God's patience by not trusting him in the wilderness (Numbers 14:11, 22). Their rebellion stemmed from their hearts consistently turning away from God. They did not want to obey God. As a result, God became angry with them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-117-11. Exhortation from Psa 95:7-11, not through unbelief to lose participation in the spiritual house. Seeing that we are the house of God if we hold fast our confidence ... (He 3:6). Jesus is "faithful," be not ye unfaithful (He 3:2, 12). The sentence beginning with "wherefore," interrupted by the parenthesis confirming the argument from Psa 95:7-11, is completed at He 3:12, "Take heed," &c. Holy Ghost saith--by the inspired Psalmist; so that the words…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 3:9

• Procrastination
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Self-Will
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Apostle
• Holy Ghost
• Moses
• Unbelief
• Congregation
• Faint
• Faithful; Faithfulness
• Hebrews, Epistle to the
• Mark
• Papyrus

Commentaries on Hebrews 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings