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Hebrews 3:9 where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.
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align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad9.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/hebrews/3-8.htm" title="Hebrews 3:8">◄</a> Hebrews 3:9 <a href="/hebrews/3-10.htm" title="Hebrews 3:10">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Greek </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/hebrews/3.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter"> (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/hebrews/3.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/hebrews/3.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/hebrews/3.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/hebrews/3.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/blb/hebrews/3.htm">Berean Literal Bible</a></span><br />where forty years your fathers tried <i>Me</i> by testing and saw My works.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/hebrews/3.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/hebrews/3.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/hebrews/3.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />WHERE YOUR FATHERS PUT <i>M</i><i>E</i> TO THE TEST, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/hebrews/3.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/hebrews/3.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED <i>Me</i> BY TESTING <i>Me</i>, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/hebrews/3.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED <i>Me</i> BY TESTING <i>Me</i>, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/hebrews/3.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED ME BY TESTING [My forbearance and tolerance], AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS [And found I stood their test].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/hebrews/3.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />where your ancestors tested me, tried me, and saw my works<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/hebrews/3.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/hebrews/3.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Where your fathers tried me by proving me, And saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/hebrews/3.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />For forty years your ancestors tested God and saw the things he did. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/hebrews/3.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Wherewith your fathers tempted me by proving me, And saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/hebrews/3.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />That is where your ancestors tested me,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/hebrews/3.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/hebrews/3.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />There your ancestors tested me, even though they had seen my actions <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/hebrews/3.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/hebrews/3.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />"There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/hebrews/3.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />where your fathers tested me and challenged me, and saw my works for forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/hebrews/3.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wey/hebrews/3.htm">Weymouth New Testament</a></span><br />where your forefathers so sorely tried My patience and saw all that I did during forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/hebrews/3.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />where your fathers tested me and tried me, and saw my deeds for forty years. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/hebrews/3.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />in which your fathers tempted Me; they proved Me, and saw My works [for] forty years;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/blb/hebrews/3.htm">Berean Literal Bible</a></span><br />where forty years your fathers tried <i>Me</i> by testing and saw My works.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/hebrews/3.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> in which tempt Me did your fathers, they did prove Me, and saw My works forty years;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/hebrews/3.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Where your fathers tried me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/hebrews/3.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Where your fathers tempted me, proved and saw my works, <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/hebrews/3.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />where your fathers tested me, even though they had seen and examined my works for forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/hebrews/3.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />where your ancestors tested and tried me and saw my works<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/hebrews/3.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/hebrews/3.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Your fathers tempted me even though they examined and saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/aramaic-plain-english/hebrews/3.htm">Aramaic Bible in Plain English</a></span><br />When your fathers tempted me and they proved and saw my works 40 years.<div class="vheading2"><b>NT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/anderson/hebrews/3.htm">Anderson New Testament</a></span><br />where your fathers tried me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/godbey/hebrews/3.htm">Godbey New Testament</a></span><br />whom our fathers tempted in proving me, and saw my works forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/haweis/hebrews/3.htm">Haweis New Testament</a></span><br />when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works during forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/mace/hebrews/3.htm">Mace New Testament</a></span><br />where your fathers provoked me to give proofs of my power forty years, tho' they saw my works.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wey/hebrews/3.htm">Weymouth New Testament</a></span><br />where your forefathers so sorely tried My patience and saw all that I did during forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/worrell/hebrews/3.htm">Worrell New Testament</a></span><br />where your fathers tempted Me by proving Me, and saw My works, forty years.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/worsley/hebrews/3.htm">Worsley New Testament</a></span><br />proved me, and saw my works forty years:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/hebrews/3-9.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x-IAXXp5zcA?start=392" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/hebrews/3.htm">Do Not Harden Your Hearts</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">8</span>do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, <span class="reftext">9</span><span class="highl"><a href="/greek/3757.htm" title="3757: hou (Adv) -- Where, whither, when, in what place. Genitive case of hos as adverb; at which place, i.e. Where.">where</a> <a href="/greek/4771.htm" title="4771: hymōn (PPro-G2P) -- You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.">your</a> <a href="/greek/3588.htm" title="3588: hoi (Art-NMP) -- The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the."></a> <a href="/greek/3962.htm" title="3962: pateres (N-NMP) -- Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a father.">fathers</a> <a href="/greek/3985.htm" title="3985: epeirasan (V-AIA-3P) -- To try, tempt, test. From peira; to test, i.e. Endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline.">tested</a> <a href="/greek/1722.htm" title="1722: en (Prep) -- In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; in, at, on, by, etc.">and</a> <a href="/greek/1382.htm" title="1382: dokimasia (N-DFS) -- A trial, proof; tried, approved character. From the same as dokimos; test; by implication, trustiness.">tried Me,</a> <a href="/greek/2532.htm" title="2532: kai (Conj) -- And, even, also, namely. ">and</a> <a href="/greek/5062.htm" title="5062: tesserakonta (Adj-ANP) -- Forty. The decade of tessares; forty.">for forty</a> <a href="/greek/2094.htm" title="2094: etē (N-ANP) -- A year. Apparently a primary word; a year.">years</a> <a href="/greek/3708.htm" title="3708: eidon (V-AIA-3P) -- Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.">saw</a> <a href="/greek/1473.htm" title="1473: mou (PPro-G1S) -- I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.">My</a> <a href="/greek/3588.htm" title="3588: ta (Art-ANP) -- The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the."></a> <a href="/greek/2041.htm" title="2041: erga (N-ANP) -- From a primary ergo; toil; by implication, an act.">works.</a> </span> <span class="reftext">10</span>Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/95-8.htm">Psalm 95:8-11</a></span><br />do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness, / where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work. / For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways.” ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/exodus/17-1.htm">Exodus 17:1-7</a></span><br />Then the whole congregation of Israel left the Desert of Sin, moving from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. / So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?” / But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/numbers/14-22.htm">Numbers 14:22-23</a></span><br />not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times— / not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/6-16.htm">Deuteronomy 6:16</a></span><br />Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/10-9.htm">1 Corinthians 10:9-11</a></span><br />We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes. / And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. / Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/numbers/20-2.htm">Numbers 20:2-13</a></span><br />Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron. / The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD! / Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/7-36.htm">Acts 7:36-39</a></span><br />He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness. / This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ / He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/78-40.htm">Psalm 78:40-41</a></span><br />How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! / Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/106-13.htm">Psalm 106:13-14</a></span><br />Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel. / They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/9-22.htm">Deuteronomy 9:22-24</a></span><br />You continued to provoke the LORD at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah. / And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him. / You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/4-7.htm">Matthew 4:7</a></span><br />Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/6-30.htm">John 6:30-31</a></span><br />So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? / Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/10-1.htm">1 Corinthians 10:1-5</a></span><br />I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea. / They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. / They all ate the same spiritual food ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/78-56.htm">Psalm 78:56</a></span><br />But they tested and disobeyed God Most High, for they did not keep His decrees.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/81-7.htm">Psalm 81:7</a></span><br />You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.</p><p class="hdg">and.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/19-4.htm">Exodus 19:4</a></b></br> Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and <i>how</i> I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/20-22.htm">Exodus 20:22</a></b></br> And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/deuteronomy/4-3.htm">Deuteronomy 4:3,9</a></b></br> Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you… </p><p class="hdg">forty.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/numbers/14-33.htm">Numbers 14:33</a></b></br> And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/deuteronomy/8-2.htm">Deuteronomy 8:2,4</a></b></br> And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, <i>and</i> to prove thee, to know what <i>was</i> in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/joshua/5-6.htm">Joshua 5:6</a></b></br> For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people <i>that were</i> men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/hebrews/2-3.htm">Fathers</a> <a href="/hebrews/3-8.htm">Forefathers</a> <a href="/2_corinthians/11-24.htm">Forty</a> <a href="/titus/2-2.htm">Patience</a> <a href="/2_timothy/2-13.htm">Prove</a> <a href="/hebrews/2-2.htm">Proved</a> <a href="/1_thessalonians/2-4.htm">Proving</a> <a href="/luke/9-39.htm">Sorely</a> <a href="/1_corinthians/10-9.htm">Tempt</a> <a href="/hebrews/2-18.htm">Tempted</a> <a href="/hebrews/2-18.htm">Test</a> <a href="/2_timothy/3-8.htm">Tested</a> <a href="/hebrews/3-8.htm">Testing</a> <a href="/hebrews/2-18.htm">Tried</a> <a href="/hebrews/2-7.htm">Works</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/hebrews/8-9.htm">Fathers</a> <a href="/hebrews/3-15.htm">Forefathers</a> <a href="/hebrews/3-17.htm">Forty</a> <a href="/hebrews/6-12.htm">Patience</a> <a href="/hebrews/6-18.htm">Prove</a> <a href="/genesis/42-15.htm">Proved</a> <a href="/james/1-3.htm">Proving</a> <a href="/genesis/49-23.htm">Sorely</a> <a href="/james/1-13.htm">Tempt</a> <a href="/hebrews/4-15.htm">Tempted</a> <a href="/hebrews/11-17.htm">Test</a> <a href="/hebrews/4-15.htm">Tested</a> <a href="/james/1-3.htm">Testing</a> <a href="/hebrews/11-17.htm">Tried</a> <a href="/hebrews/4-3.htm">Works</a><div class="vheading2">Hebrews 3</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/hebrews/3-1.htm">Christ is more worthy than Moses;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">7. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/hebrews/3-7.htm">therefore if we believe not in him, we shall be more worthy punishment than hardhearted Israel.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-ATF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-300x250-BTF --> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br /> <!-- /1078254/BH-728x90-BTF2 --> <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/hebrews/3.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/hebrews/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/hebrews/3.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>where your fathers tested and tried Me</b><br>This phrase refers to the Israelites during their wilderness journey after the Exodus from Egypt. The "fathers" are the ancestors of the Jewish people who repeatedly tested God's patience and faithfulness. This testing is documented in several instances, such as at Massah and Meribah (<a href="/exodus/17.htm">Exodus 17:1-7</a>, <a href="/numbers/20-2.htm">Numbers 20:2-13</a>), where the Israelites doubted God's provision and presence. The testing and trying of God reflect a lack of faith and trust, despite the numerous miracles they witnessed. This behavior is a warning to the readers of Hebrews to avoid similar unbelief and disobedience.<p><b>and for forty years saw My works</b><br>The "forty years" refers to the period the Israelites spent wandering in the desert, a direct result of their disobedience and lack of faith (<a href="/numbers/14-33.htm">Numbers 14:33-34</a>). During this time, they witnessed God's miraculous works, including the provision of manna (Exodus 16), water from the rock (<a href="/exodus/17-6.htm">Exodus 17:6</a>), and the guidance of the pillar of cloud and fire (<a href="/exodus/13-21.htm">Exodus 13:21-22</a>). Despite these continuous signs of God's power and care, the Israelites' persistent unbelief led to their exclusion from entering the Promised Land. This serves as a typology of Christ, who provides spiritual sustenance and guidance, urging believers to remain faithful and obedient to enter the ultimate rest promised by God.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_fathers.htm">The Fathers</a></b><br>Refers to the Israelites who were led by Moses out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness for forty years. They are the ancestors of the Jewish people to whom the letter of Hebrews is addressed.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_wilderness.htm">The Wilderness</a></b><br>The desert region where the Israelites wandered for forty years after their exodus from Egypt. It was a place of testing and divine provision.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/g/god's_works.htm">God's Works</a></b><br>The miraculous deeds performed by God during the Israelites' journey, including the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, and water from the rock.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/t/testing_and_trying.htm">Testing and Trying</a></b><br>The actions of the Israelites as they doubted and challenged God's presence and provision despite witnessing His miracles.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/f/forty_years.htm">Forty Years</a></b><br>The period of time the Israelites spent in the wilderness, which symbolizes a generation and a time of testing and judgment.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_danger_of_unbelief.htm">The Danger of Unbelief</a></b><br>The Israelites' testing of God stemmed from a lack of faith. Believers today must guard against unbelief by trusting in God's promises and faithfulness.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/r/remembering_god's_works.htm">Remembering God's Works</a></b><br>Just as the Israelites witnessed God's miracles, Christians are called to remember and recount God's faithfulness in their lives to strengthen their faith.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_disobedience.htm">The Consequences of Disobedience</a></b><br>The Israelites' disobedience led to a generation missing out on the Promised Land. Believers should heed this warning and strive for obedience to God's Word.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_perseverance.htm">The Importance of Perseverance</a></b><br>The forty years in the wilderness teach us about the need for perseverance in our spiritual journey, trusting that God is with us even in difficult times.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/e/encouragement_in_community.htm">Encouragement in Community</a></b><br><a href="/hebrews/3-13.htm">Hebrews 3:13</a> encourages believers to exhort one another daily. Community support is vital in maintaining faith and avoiding the pitfalls of unbelief.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_hebrews_3.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Hebrews 3</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_'you_are_not_your_own'_mean.htm">Who is your adversary according to the Bible?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/who_is_jesus_and_why_is_he_important.htm">Who is Jesus and what is his significance?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_little_archeological_proof_for_heb._3_7-11.htm">In Hebrews 3:7-11, the reference to Israel's rebellion in the wilderness implies widespread miraculous events; why is there so little corroborating archeological evidence for these events?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_rewards_come_from_perseverance.htm">What does 'Every Spiritual Blessing' mean?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/hebrews/3.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(9) According to our best MSS. this verse will run thus: <span class= "ital">Where</span> (or, <span class= "ital">wherewith</span>)<span class= "ital"> your fathers tempted by trial, and saw My works forty years.</span> The meaning of the Hebrew (with which the LXX. very nearly agrees) is: "Where your fathers tempted Me, proved Me; also saw My work." The change of reading is more interesting than important, as the sense is not materially different. Both here and in the original passage it seems probable that the "work," or "works," should be understood of the divine judgments which the disobedient people "saw" and bore during forty years. In the Psalm (and apparently in <a href="/hebrews/3-17.htm" title="But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?">Hebrews 3:17</a> of this chapter) the mention of the forty years connects itself with the words which follow; but here with the provocations of the people and their punishment. It is held by many that in this period of forty years is contained a reference to the time that intervened between our Saviour's earthly ministry and the destruction of Jerusalem; and a Jewish tradition is quoted which assigns to "the days of Messiah" a duration of forty years.<p><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/hebrews/3-9.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Greek</div><span class="word">where</span><br /><span class="grk">οὗ</span> <span class="translit">(hou)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_3757.htm">Strong's 3757: </a> </span><span class="str2">Where, whither, when, in what place. Genitive case of hos as adverb; at which place, i.e. Where.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">your</span><br /><span class="grk">ὑμῶν</span> <span class="translit">(hymōn)</span><br /><span class="parse">Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_4771.htm">Strong's 4771: </a> </span><span class="str2">You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">fathers</span><br /><span class="grk">πατέρες</span> <span class="translit">(pateres)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_3962.htm">Strong's 3962: </a> </span><span class="str2">Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">tested</span><br /><span class="grk">ἐπείρασαν</span> <span class="translit">(epeirasan)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_3985.htm">Strong's 3985: </a> </span><span class="str2">To try, tempt, test. From peira; to test, i.e. Endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">[and]</span><br /><span class="grk">ἐν</span> <span class="translit">(en)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_1722.htm">Strong's 1722: </a> </span><span class="str2">In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">tried [Me],</span><br /><span class="grk">δοκιμασίᾳ</span> <span class="translit">(dokimasia)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - Dative Feminine Singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_1382.htm">Strong's 1382: </a> </span><span class="str2">A trial, proof; tried, approved character. From the same as dokimos; test; by implication, trustiness.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and</span><br /><span class="grk">καὶ</span> <span class="translit">(kai)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunction<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_2532.htm">Strong's 2532: </a> </span><span class="str2">And, even, also, namely. </span><br /><br /><span class="word">for forty</span><br /><span class="grk">τεσσεράκοντα</span> <span class="translit">(tesserakonta)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_5062.htm">Strong's 5062: </a> </span><span class="str2">Forty. The decade of tessares; forty.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">years</span><br /><span class="grk">ἔτη</span> <span class="translit">(etē)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_2094.htm">Strong's 2094: </a> </span><span class="str2">A year. Apparently a primary word; a year.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">saw</span><br /><span class="grk">εἶδον</span> <span class="translit">(eidon)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_3708.htm">Strong's 3708: </a> </span><span class="str2">Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">My</span><br /><span class="grk">μου</span> <span class="translit">(mou)</span><br /><span class="parse">Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_1473.htm">Strong's 1473: </a> </span><span class="str2">I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.</span><br /><br /><span class="word">works.</span><br /><span class="grk">ἔργα</span> <span class="translit">(erga)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/greek/strongs_2041.htm">Strong's 2041: </a> </span><span class="str2">From a primary ergo; toil; by implication, an act.</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/hebrews/3-9.htm">Hebrews 3:9 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/hebrews/3-9.htm">NT Letters: Hebrews 3:9 Where your fathers tested me by proving (Heb. He. Hb) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/hebrews/3-8.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Hebrews 3:8"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Hebrews 3:8" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/hebrews/3-10.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Hebrews 3:10"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Hebrews 3:10" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>