Psalm 78:41
New International Version
Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

New Living Translation
Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

English Standard Version
They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Berean Standard Bible
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

King James Bible
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

New King James Version
Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

New American Standard Bible
Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel.

NASB 1995
Again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel.

NASB 1977
And again and again they tempted God, And pained the Holy One of Israel.

Legacy Standard Bible
Again and again they tested God, And pained the Holy One of Israel.

Amplified Bible
Again and again they tempted God, And distressed the Holy One of Israel.

Christian Standard Bible
They constantly tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They constantly tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

American Standard Version
And they turned again and tempted God, And provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Contemporary English Version
They kept testing him and caused terrible pain for the Holy One of Israel.

English Revised Version
And they turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Again and again they tested God, and they pushed the Holy One of Israel to the limit.

Good News Translation
Again and again they put God to the test and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.

International Standard Version
They tested God again and again, provoking the Holy One of Israel.

Majority Standard Bible
Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

NET Bible
They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.

New Heart English Bible
They turned again and tempted God, and gave pain to the Holy One of Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

World English Bible
They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Indeed, they turn back, and try God, "" And have limited the Holy One of Israel.

Young's Literal Translation
Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will turn back and tempt God, and they broke in upon the Holy One of Israel.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they turned back and tempted God: and grieved the holy one of Israel.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they turned back and tempted God, and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.

New American Bible
Again and again they tested God, provoked the Holy One of Israel.

New Revised Standard Version
They tested God again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and defied the Holy One of Israel.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they turned back and they tempted God and they provoked The Holy One of Israel.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And still again they tried God, And set bounds to the Holy One of Israel.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Yea, they turned back, and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
40How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! 41Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42They did not remember His power—the day He redeemed them from the adversary,…

Cross References
Numbers 14:22
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—

Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.

Hebrews 3:8-9
do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, / where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.

Exodus 17:2-7
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?” / Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? A little more and they will stone me!” ...

Deuteronomy 6:16
Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.

1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

Judges 2:12-14
Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, / for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. / Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.

2 Kings 17:14-15
But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God. / They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.

Jeremiah 7:24-26
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. / From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again. / Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.

Ezekiel 20:21
But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:7
Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Mark 8:11-12
Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. / Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

Luke 4:12
But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Acts 7:39-42
But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. / They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ / At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands. ...

Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.


Treasury of Scripture

Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

year

Numbers 14:4,22
And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt…

Deuteronomy 6:16
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

Acts 7:39
To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

limited

Psalm 78:19,20
Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? …

Mark 5:35,36
While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? …

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Bounds Grieved Holy Israel Limited Pain Pained Provoked Tempted Test Tested Tried Try Turn Turned Vexed
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Bounds Grieved Holy Israel Limited Pain Pained Provoked Tempted Test Tested Tried Try Turn Turned Vexed
Psalm 78
1. An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9. The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67. The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David.














Again and again
This phrase emphasizes the repetitive nature of the Israelites' actions. In Hebrew, the concept of repetition is often used to underscore the persistence or stubbornness of a behavior. The Israelites' continual testing of God reflects a pattern of disbelief and rebellion. Historically, this mirrors the cyclical nature of Israel's faithfulness and unfaithfulness throughout the Old Testament, particularly during their wilderness wanderings. It serves as a reminder of human frailty and the tendency to fall back into old habits despite witnessing God's power and provision.

they tested God
The Hebrew word for "tested" here is "nāsâ," which implies putting someone to the test to see if they will prove themselves. In the context of the Israelites, it suggests a lack of trust and a demand for proof of God's faithfulness and power. This testing is not a sincere seeking of truth but rather a challenge to God's authority and character. Scripturally, this reflects the numerous instances where the Israelites doubted God's promises, such as in Exodus 17:2-7, where they questioned His ability to provide water in the desert.

and provoked
The word "provoked" comes from the Hebrew "hāmar," which means to rebel or incite. This indicates a deliberate action to stir up anger or displeasure. The Israelites' actions were not merely passive doubts but active provocations against God. Historically, this can be seen in events like the golden calf incident (Exodus 32), where their actions directly challenged God's commandments and leadership. It serves as a cautionary tale of the consequences of rebellion against divine authority.

the Holy One of Israel
This title for God, "the Holy One of Israel," underscores His unique and set-apart nature. The Hebrew word "qādôsh" signifies holiness, purity, and separateness. By using this title, the psalmist highlights the gravity of the Israelites' actions—they were not merely offending a deity but the Holy One who had chosen them as His people. This title is rich with covenantal significance, reminding the reader of God's faithfulness and the special relationship He established with Israel. It calls believers to recognize the sanctity and majesty of God, urging them to respond with reverence and obedience.

(41) Limited.--A verb used in Ezekiel 9:4 for putting a mark on the forehead, which has been very variously explained. Some render branded or cast a stigma on--i.e., brought discredit on the Divine name. The LXX. and Vulg. have "exasperated," and so some moderns "crossed," "thwarted." Gratz emends to "asked signs from," but perhaps the ideas of marking something that has been tried, and that of trying or tempting are sufficiently near to allow us to render tempted.

Verse 41. - Yea, they turned back and tempted God; rather, again and again they tempted God (Hengstenberg, Kay, Cheyne); see Exodus 17:2, 7; Deuteronomy 6:16. And limited the Holy One of Israel (comp. Numbers 34:7, 8). This may mean either "they set limits to his power in their own minds" (see ver. 20), or "they actually limited his power to help and succour them by their want of faith" (comp. Mark 6:5, "He could there do no mighty work," explained in Matthew 13:58 to have been "because of their unbelief"). The other meanings suggested - "disgraced" and" provoked" - are less probable.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Again and again
וַיָּשׁ֣וּבוּ (way·yā·šū·ḇū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

they tested
וַיְנַסּ֣וּ (way·nas·sū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5254: To test, to attempt

God
אֵ֑ל (’êl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty

and provoked
הִתְווּ׃‪‬ (hiṯ·wū)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8428: Probably to pain, wound

the Holy
וּקְד֖וֹשׁ (ū·qə·ḏō·wōš)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6918: Sacred, God, an angel, a saint, a sanctuary

One of Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT Poetry: Psalm 78:41 They turned again and tempted God (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 78:40
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