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 Living Translation (NLT)There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years.

Context of Hebrews 3:9

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not 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 have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
• Exodus 20:22Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
• Deuteronomy 4:3Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
• Deuteronomy 11:7but your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which He did.
• Deuteronomy 29:2Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—
• Joshua 23:3You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you.
• Joshua 24:7So they cried out to the Lord; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.
• Luke 7:22Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
• Numbers 14:33And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.
• Deuteronomy 8:2And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
• Joshua 5:6For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
• Amos 2:10Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
• Acts 7:36He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
• Acts 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking 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