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Selected Verse: Matthew 4:7 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Mt 4:7 |
King James |
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
Jesus said unto him, It is written again-- (Deu 6:16), as if he should say, "True, it is so written, and on that promise I implicitly rely; but in using it there is another Scripture which must not be forgotten."
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God--"Preservation in danger is divinely pledged: shall I then create danger, either to put the promised security skeptically to the proof, or wantonly to demand a display of it? That were 'to tempt the Lord my God,' which, being expressly forbidden, would forfeit the right to expect preservation." |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Jesus said unto him, It is written again - Again the Saviour replied to Satan by a text of Scripture - a passage which expressly forbade an act like this.
Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God - This is quoted literally from Deu 6:16. The meaning is, thou shalt not try him; or, thou shalt not, by throwing thyself into voluntary and uncommanded dangers, appeal to God for protection, or trifle with the promises made to those who are thrown into danger by his providence. It is true, indeed, that God aids those of his people who are placed by him in trial or danger; but it is not true that the promise was meant to extend to those who wantonly provoke him and trifle with the promised help. Thus, Satan, artfully using and perverting Scripture, was met and repelled by Scripture rightly applied. |
Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
Again (πάλιν)
Emphatic, meaning on the other hand, with reference to Satan's it is written (Mat 4:6); as if he had said, "the promise which you quote must be explained by another passage of scripture." Archbishop Trench aptly remarks, "In that 'It is written again of Christ, lies a great lesson, quite independent of that particular scripture which, on this occasion, he quotes, or of the use to which he turns it. There lies in it the secret of our safety and defence against all distorted use of isolated passages in holy scripture. Only as we enter into the unity of scripture, as it balances, completes, and explains itself, are we warned against error and delusion, excess or defect on this side or the other. Thus the retort, 'It is written again,' must be of continual application; for indeed what very often are heresies but one-sided, exaggerated truths, truths rent away indeed from the body and complex of the truth, without the balance of the counter-truth, which should have kept them in their due place, co-ordinated with other truths or subordinated to them; and so, because all such checks are wanting, not truth any more, but error? |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God - By requiring farther evidence of what he hath already made sufficiently plain. Deu 6:16. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Thou shalt not tempt - To expose myself to any danger naturally destructive, with the vain presumption that God will protect and defend me from the ruinous consequences of my imprudent conduct, is to tempt God. |
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.