Read
Psalm 78:41
They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
39He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert!
41They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary;
43how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,
Notice
The word “again” makes Israel’s provocation hard to dismiss as a single lapse, and “the Holy One of Israel” names whom they offended.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What weight does “again” add to your reading of Israel’s testing of God?
Write on thisWhat act of God’s help do you want to remember as you read this warning?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Matthew 4:7Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”Testing God is the shared thread: Israel did it again, while Jesus states the command against it.
Numbers 14:22because all those men who have seen my glory and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not …Both describe repeated testing of God by people who had witnessed his works in Egypt and the wilderness.
Hebrews 3:8–11don’t harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of the trial in the wilderness,Both recall the wilderness rebellion, with Hebrews warning its hearers against the hardness of heart shown there.
Acts 7:39to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,Both recount Israel’s rebellion, with Acts describing their rejection of Moses and their hearts turning back toward Egypt.
Numbers 11:23The LORD said to Moses, “Has the LORD’s hand grown short? Now you will see whether my word will happen to you or not.”Both concern responses to God: Psalm 78 names provocation, while Numbers 11 challenges doubt about his power.
Deuteronomy 6:16You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah.Deuteronomy forbids tempting God and recalls Massah; Psalm 78 recounts Israel’s repeated tempting of the same God.
2 Kings 7:2Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, “Behold, if the LORD made windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He said, …Both portray challenges to God: Israel tempts him, while the captain questions whether the announced provision could happen.
Exodus 17:2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”Both name Israel’s testing of God, with Exodus locating it in the people’s quarrel with Moses over water.
Numbers 14:4They said to one another, “Let’s choose a leader, and let’s return into Egypt.”Both recount Israel’s rebellion, with Numbers recording the people’s proposal to choose a leader and return to Egypt.
2 Peter 2:21–22For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.Both describe turning back from obedience: Israel provokes the Holy One, while Peter describes abandoning the holy commandment.
Psalm 78:19–20Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?Both describe Israel challenging God, with verse 19 recording their question about his ability to provide food in the wilderness.
Psalm 101:3I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.The shared thread is faithlessness: Psalm 78 recounts Israel’s provocation, while Psalm 101 rejects the deeds of faithless men.
Where this verse fits
Sermon or Bible study notes. temptation. guilt and confession.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The warning deserves your attention: Israel’s repeated testing grieved the God who remembered their frailty and had redeemed them from their adversary.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 78:41. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 78 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).