Temptations in the Desert
Matthew 4:7 It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Matthew 4:7 It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test
Matthew 4:7 The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’
Once more, it has been written, "No, you will not test a master, that Divine of yours.
Matthew 4:7 Πάλιν γέγραπται “Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.”
Deu 6:16 LXX οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου
This is the second temptation of Christ in the desert. The exact same Greek is used in the Septuagint to translate Deut 6:16. Again, the differences between the Hebrew and Greek shows us that the Jesus quote relies on the Greek not the Hebrew.
The word translated as "tempt" and "test" has a root that means "to test" and "to seduce." It adds a prefix that means "from" or "out of." The combination of the root word with "out" creates a word closer to our idea of "trying out" and "testing out" something. In Hebrew, "tempt" is nacah. Its meaning is closer to "test" than to "seduce." It has a strong flavor of "try out" "test the limits." In Hebrew, the tense is the simple past, but this is the future tense.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "the" doesn't appear before "lord" but before "God."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "also" is not the Greek word usually translated as "also" but the one translated usually as "again."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "do" should not indicate a command.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "put" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the future tense.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "the" doesn't appear before "lord" but before "God."
- IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "to the" doesn't exist in the source.
- WF - Wrong Form - The "test" is a verb not a noun.
- IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "No! The Scriptures" doesn't exist in the source.
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "says" means "written."
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "say" indicates the present tense, but the tense of the verb is the past perfect.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "also" is not the Greek word usually translated as "also" but the one translated usually as "again."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "must" should not indicate a command.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "must" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the future tense.
- WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "the" doesn't appear before "lord" but before "God."
it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the following verb.
is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been."
written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark", "to express by written characters", and "to write down [a law]". The form is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."
again, -- It begins with the Greek word translated as "again" whose meaning of this word is "back" as it refers us back to something said earlier.
Thou -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
shalt -- This helping verb "shalt" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. It appears at the beginning of the sentence as we might start a sentence with a "no".
tempt -- The Greek word that the KJV translates as "tempt" (or "test") is a little more complex than simply "to test." This word is only used by Jesus one other place in the Gospels, Mark 12:15. The combination of the prefix meaning "out" with a root word meaning "test" creates a word closer to our idea of "trying out" and "testing out" something. It has a strong flavor of "try out" "test the limits."
the -- (WP) The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." However, this comes before the word "God" not "Lord."The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
Lord - The term "Lord" indicates the person who, in a given situation, has the real power and authority. In English, we use the word "boss" to capture this idea. However, the term is more of an honorific than "boss." It is how Jesus is most often addressed by others. There is no "the" before the word in Greek.
thy -- The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
God. -- The word "God" means "the Divinity."
It -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the following verb.
is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been."
also -- (CW) This verse begins with the Greek word translated as "again" that means "back" or "again." This is not the word normally translated as "again" in the NT.
written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark", "to express by written characters", and "to write down [a law]". The form is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."
Do -- (WF) This helping verb is added to make this a command, but the Greek is a statement.
not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. It appears at the beginning of the sentence as we might start a sentence with a "no".
put -- (WT) This helping verb "put" indicates that the verb is the present tense, but the verb is actually the future tense. This verb means "test", not put, but that is idea is completed with the phrase "to the test" below.
the -- (WP) The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." However, this comes before the word "God" not "Lord."The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
Lord - The term "Lord" indicates the person who, in a given situation, has the real power and authority. In English, we use the word "boss" to capture this idea. However, the term is more of an honorific than "boss." It is how Jesus is most often addressed by others. There is no "the" before the word in Greek.
your -- The word translated as "your" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
God. -- The word "God" means "the Divinity."
to the -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "to the" in the Greek source.
test -- (WF) The Greek verb "test" (or "tempt") is a little more complex than simply "to test." It is not the noun form of the word. This word is only used by Jesus one other place in the Gospels, Mark 12:15. The combination of the prefix meaning "out" with a root word meaning "test" creates a word closer to our idea of "trying out" and "testing out" something. It has a strong flavor of "try out" "test the limits."
The Scriptures , -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as an initial "No! The scriptures" in the Greek source.
also -- (CW) This verse begins with the Greek word translated as "again" that means "back" or "again." This is not the word normally translated as "again" in the NT.
say, -- (WW, WF) "Say" is the Greek verb that means "to write," "to mark", "to express by written characters", "to write a letter", "to write down [a law]", and so on.
You -- This is from the second-person, singular form of the verb.
must -- (WF, WT) This helping verb "must" indicates a command in the present tense, but the verb is a statement in the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
not -- The Greek word translated as "not" is the Greek negative used to deny objective facts, not opinions. It makes a negative statement of fact. Adding "really" to the sentence captures the same idea. It appears at the beginning of the sentence as we might start a sentence with a "no".
test -- The Greek word "test" (or "tempt") is a little more complex than simply "to test." This word is only used by Jesus one other place in the Gospels, Mark 12:15. The combination of the prefix meaning "out" with a root word meaning "test" creates a word closer to our idea of "trying out" and "testing out" something. It has a strong flavor of "try out" "test the limits." e.
the -- (WP) The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." However, this comes before the word "God" not "Lord."The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.
Lord - The term "Lord" indicates the person who, in a given situation, has the real power and authority. In English, we use the word "boss" to capture this idea. However, the term is more of an honorific than "boss." It is how Jesus is most often addressed by others. There is no "the" before the word in Greek.
your -- The word translated as "your" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
God. -- The word "God" means "the Divinity."
Πάλιν (adv) "Again" is from palin, which means "back", "backward", "contradiction", "again", "once more," and "in turn."
γέγραπται (3rd sg perf ind mp) "It is written" is from grapho, which means "to write", "having marked or drawn", "to describe", "to brand", "to express by written characters", "to ordain", "to enroll oneself", "to be indicted," and "to write down."
“Οὐκ [269 verses](partic) "Not" is from ou which is the negative adverb for facts and statements, negating both single words and sentences. The other negative adverb, μή applies to will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective.
ἐκπειράσεις ” [2 verses](2nd sg fut ind act) "You shall...tempt" is ekpeirazo, which means "to make a trial", "to prove," "to tempt" "to inquire" and "to ask of another." The word is uncommon Greek, but it consists of two most common words. Ek, which means "out of", "from", "by" and "away from." Peirazô means "to attempt", "to try", "to test," and, in a bad sense, "to seek to seduce," and "to tempt."
Κύριον [92 verses](noun sg masc acc) "The Lord" is from kyrios, which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family."
τὸν [821 verses] (article sg masc acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."
θεόν [144 verses](noun sg masc acc) "God" is from theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."
σου [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is from sou which means "you" and "your."
He shook his head and smiled.
"Again," he said as a teacher addressing a student. "It has written itself!"
"You can't even attempt, " he said, smiling as he shook his finger. "To test a master!
Then gesturing again to the sky above, he added, "Your Divinity!"