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, as the Holy Spirit says, “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! 8“Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness. “There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years. 10“Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering and they have not known my ways.’ 11“As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”

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 yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
• Exodus 20:22The Lord said to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven.
• Deuteronomy 4:3You have witnessed what the Lord did at Baal Peor, how he eradicated from your midst everyone who followed Baal Peor.
• Deuteronomy 11:7I am speaking to you because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the Lord!
• Deuteronomy 29:2Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: “You have seen all that the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.
• Joshua 23:3You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you.
• Joshua 24:7Your fathers cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, and then drowned them in the sea. You witnessed with your very own eyes what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time.
• Luke 7:22So he answered them, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them.
• Numbers 14:33and your children will wander in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your dead bodies lie finished in the wilderness.
• Deuteronomy 8:2Remember the whole way by which he has brought you these forty years through the desert so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.
• Joshua 5:6Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, a land rich in milk and honey.
• Amos 2:10I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for forty years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
• Acts 7:36This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
• Acts 13:8But the magician Elymas (for that is the way his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from 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