New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 6:16
16You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.
Deuteronomy 6:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.
Context of Deuteronomy 6:16
14“You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, 15for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah. 17You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. 18Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors.
Read all of Deuteronomy 6Deuteronomy 6:16 word by word
לֹ֣א תְנַסּ֔וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר נִסִּיתֶ֖ם בַּמַּסָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 6:16
- Matthew 4:7Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
- Luke 4:12Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
- Exodus 17:2So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”
- Numbers 20:3The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers!
- Numbers 21:4Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey,
- Psalms 95:8The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.
- Hebrews 3:8don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 6:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Ye 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? Exodus 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-25Verses 10-25 The Israelites were at the point of quitting a normal, life for a fixed and settled abode in the midst of other nations; they were exchanging a condition of comparative poverty for great and goodly cities, houses and vineyards. There was therefore before them a double danger; (1) a God-forgetting worldliness, and (2) a false tolerance of the idolatries practiced by those about to become their neighbors. The former error Moses strives to guard…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-16Verses 6-16 Here are means for maintaining and keeping up religion in our hearts and houses. 1. Meditation. God's words must be laid up in our hearts, that our thoughts may be daily employed about them. 2. The religious education of children. Often repeat these things to them. Be careful and exact in teaching thy children. Teach these truths to all who are any way under thy care. 3. Pious discourse. Thou shalt talk of these things with due reverence and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16When Israel traveled through the Sinai desert after the exodus, they reached Rephidim. There was no water here (Exodus 17:1–7). Moses saw the people's demand for water as testing the Lord, so he called the place Massah, which means "testing." Jesus later quoted this verse when Satan tempted him (Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251-9. Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them ... whither ye go to possess it--The grand design of all the institutions prescribed to Israel was to form a religious people, whose national character should be distinguished by that fear of the Lord their God which would ensure their divine observance of His worship and their steadfast obedience to His will. The…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 6:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries