John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 9. When your fathers tempted me , etc..] This the apostle cites and repeats, to expose the glorying of the Jews in their ancestors; to dissuade them from following their sinful practices; to deter them from the same by observing both their sin and punishment; and to heighten their regards to the voice and Gospel of Christ: proved me ; this is either an explication of the former phrase; or it may design the experience this people had of the power and goodness of God, notwithstanding their tempting and provoking the Lord by a distrust of them; which is an aggravation of their sin and ingratitude, and shows the forbearance of God, and that wicked men may partake of outward favours: and saw my works forty years ; that is, God's works of providence, in furnishing them with the necessaries of life, in guiding, protecting, and supporting them for the space of forty years, in the wilderness; and his miracles, and the punishment of their enemies; yet they saw and perceived not, but all this time sinned against the Lord, (see Deuteronomy 29:2-8) the space of time, forty years, is in the psalm placed to the beginning of the next verse, and is joined with God's grief and indignation at the people, as it is also by the apostle, in ( Hebrews 3:17) but the people's sin, and God's grief at it, being of equal duration, it matters not to which it is placed, and therefore to both; perhaps, one reason of its being repeated, and so much notice taken of it is, because there was just this number of years from Christ's sufferings, to the destruction of Jerusalem; which the apostle might have in view.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 7-13 - Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, in a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in, or for their sin; he waits long to be graciou to them. But sin, long persisted in, will make God's wrath discove itself in destroying the impenitent; there is no resting under the wrath of God. "Take heed:" all who would get safe to heaven must loo about them; if once we allow ourselves to distrust God, we may soo desert him. Let those that think they stand, take heed lest they fall Since to-morrow is not ours, we must make the best improvement of thi day. And there are none, even the strongest of the flock, who do no need help of other Christians. Neither are there any so low an despised, but the care of their standing in the faith, and of their safety, belongs to all. Sin has so many ways and colours, that we nee more eyes than ours own. Sin appears fair, but is vile; it appear pleasant, but is destructive; it promises much, but performs nothing The deceitfulness of sin hardens the soul; one sin allowed makes wa for another; and every act of sin confirms the habit. Let every on beware of sin.
Greek Textus Receptus
ου 3757 ADV επειρασαν 3985 5656 V-AAI-3P με 3165 P-1AS οι 3588 T-NPM πατερες 3962 N-NPM υμων 5216 P-2GP εδοκιμασαν 1381 5656 V-AAI-3P με 3165 P-1AS και 2532 CONJ ειδον 1492 5627 V-2AAI-3P τα 3588 T-APN εργα 2041 N-APN μου 3450 P-1GS τεσσαρακοντα 5062 A-NUI ετη 2094 N-APN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
9. When (ou). Rend. where. See ou= after erhmov wilderness, Deut. viii. 15.Tempted me, proved me (epeirasan en dokimasia). Lit. tried (me) in proving. The text differs from LXX, which reads ejpeirasan, ejdokimasan tempted, proved, as A.V. The phrase here means tempted by putting to the test. Comp. ejkpeirazein to tempt or try with a view to seeing how far one can go. See on 1 Cor. x. 9.
And saw my works (kai eidon ta erga mou). Some construe my works with both verbs: tried and saw my works: but it is better to supply me after ejpeirasan tempted, to take works with saw only, and to give kaithe force of and yet (see on Luke xviii. 7). "They tempted and yet saw my works;" although they saw my works. The Hebrew is "tried me, proved me, yea saw my works."
Forty years. In LXX this is connected with saw my works. In the Hebrew forty years begins the next clause.
