Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Original Language Analysis
αὐτῷ
unto him
G846
αὐτῷ
unto him
Strong's:
G846
Word #:
2 of 12
the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative g1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
ὁ
G3588
ὁ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
3 of 12
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
Ἰησοῦς
Jesus
G2424
Ἰησοῦς
Jesus
Strong's:
G2424
Word #:
4 of 12
jesus (i.e., jehoshua), the name of our lord and two (three) other israelites
Πάλιν
again
G3825
Πάλιν
again
Strong's:
G3825
Word #:
5 of 12
(adverbially) anew, i.e., (of place) back, (of time) once more, or (conjunctionally) furthermore or on the other hand
γέγραπται
It is written
G1125
γέγραπται
It is written
Strong's:
G1125
Word #:
6 of 12
to "grave", especially to write; figuratively, to describe
Κύριον
the Lord
G2962
Κύριον
the Lord
Strong's:
G2962
Word #:
9 of 12
supreme in authority, i.e., (as noun) controller; by implication, master (as a respectful title)
τὸν
G3588
τὸν
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
10 of 12
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
Cross References
Deuteronomy 6:16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.1 Corinthians 10:9Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.Psalms 78:18And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.Psalms 78:41Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.Hebrews 3:9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.Exodus 17:2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?Exodus 17:7And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?Acts 5:9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.Psalms 95:9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.Malachi 3:15And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Historical Context
Deuteronomy 6:16 refers to Israel's testing God at Massah by demanding proof of His presence (Exodus 17:7). The temple pinnacle was about 450 feet above the Kidron Valley. Demanding a miraculous rescue would force God to validate presumption rather than faith.
Questions for Reflection
- How can you distinguish between faith and presumption in your life?
- What safeguards do you use to prevent misapplying Scripture?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Jesus responds to the second temptation (presuming on God's protection by jumping from the temple) with 'It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God' (Deuteronomy 6:16). This shows that Scripture must interpret Scripture—Satan misapplied Psalm 91:11-12 by divorcing it from context. Tempting God means forcing His hand through presumptuous actions that require Him to act contrary to His revealed will.