Matthew 4:7

Matthew 4:7

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

a. ASV: Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.

b. YLT: Jesus said to him again, 'It hath been written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'

c. Classic Amplified: Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God.

1. “Jesus said unto him, It is written again…”

a. Jesus [Strong: 2424. Iesous ee-ay-sooce' of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:--Jesus.]

b. said [Strong: 5346. phemi fay-mee' properly, the same as the base of 5457 and 5316; to show or make known one's thoughts, i.e. speak or say:--affirm, say.]

c. [to] him [Strong: 846. autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

d. [Strong: 3588. [ho] ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.]

e. [It is] written [Strong: 1125. grapho graf'-o a primary verb; to "grave", especially to write; figuratively, to describe:--describe, write(-ing, -ten).]

f. again [Strong: 3825. palin pal'-in probably from the same as 3823 (through the idea of oscillatory repetition); (adverbially) anew, i.e. (of place) back, (of time) once more, or (conjunctionally) furthermore or on the other hand:--again.]

2. “...Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

a. [Thou shalt] not [Strong: 3756. ou oo, also (before a vowel) ouk ook, and (before an aspirate) ouch ookh a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

b. tempt [Strong: 1598. ekpeirazo ek-pi-rad'-zo from 1537 and 3985; to test thoroughly:--tempt.]

c. [the] Lord [Strong: 2962. kurios koo'-ree-os from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):-- God, Lord, master, Sir.

d. [Strong: 3588. [ton] ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ton] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.]

e. thy [Strong: 4771. su soo the person pronoun of the second person singular; thou:-- thou.]

f. God [Strong: 2316. theos theh'-os of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:--X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).]

1). This is of course an Old Covenant promise from Psalm 91.

a). Psalm 91:10-12  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

2). In the first temptation Jesus responded to the devil's efforts with the word of God. So it seems like the devil thought if he used the Scripture in his temptation He could convince Christ Jesus to yield. The devil’s use of Scripture was a twisting of truth and Jesus responded with unadulterated truth, that to jump off the temple would be to tempt God. Groups that do this would be those who handle snakes and drink poison believing God will protect them in their reckless actions, based on Mark 16:15-19. Aside from the reckless behavior of some, in that same passage, Christ did give the Body of Christ authority over demons and all evil spirits.