Psalm 78:18

Modern

They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.

Traditional

And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.

Literal

And they tested God in their heart, by requesting food of their soul.

Latin

Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis, ut peterent escas animabus suis.

Hebrew

English

They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.

Israel rebelled in the wilderness despite God’s abundant provision.

This wisdom psalm urges people to learn wisdom and share it faithfully.

Theme notes and profiles

Numbers 11:4
Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
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.
Psalm 106:14–15
They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.
1 Corinthians 10:6
These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.
Psalm 95:9
…where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work.
Exodus 16:2–3
And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
James 4:2–3
You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God