πειράζω

Matthew 4:1 πειρασθῆναι to be tempted

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Here: 'To be tested' or 'to be tempted.' The form expresses purpose: this is why he was led there. The word covers both a proving of loyalty and an attempt to make someone fail, and both are in play here.

Matthew 4:3 πειράζων tempting

The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Here: “The one who puts to the test.” Verse 1 calls him the devil, and verse 4:10 calls him Satan. Here Matthew names him by what he is doing: probing Jesus to see whether he will give way, and trying to make him fail.

Matthew 16:1 πειράζοντες testing

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

Here: 'Testing' or 'putting him to the test.' The present participle gives the purpose and attitude behind the question. They are not honestly enquiring. They are probing for failure, hoping to expose him or discredit him. It is the same verb Matthew used for the devil in the wilderness (4:1, 3).

Matthew 19:3 πειράζοντες testing

Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

Here: "Testing him." The ongoing action describes why they came: to put Jesus to a test he might fail, probing for an answer that would discredit him or put him in danger. This is not about luring him into moral sin.

Matthew 22:18 πειράζετε, do you test,

But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?

Here: "Are you testing," in the sense of probing him to trip him up. The present tense describes a test still under way. Matthew uses this verb for the devil's testing of Jesus (4:1, 3) and for every hostile test from his opponents (16:1; 19:3; 22:35).

Matthew 22:35 πειράζων testing

One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

Here: Gives the purpose of the question: he is probing Jesus to see whether he passes or fails. In Matthew's chain of encounters (compare 16:1; 19:3; 22:18) this testing is adversarial. It is not enticement to sin.

Mark 1:13 πειραζόμενος being tempted

and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him.

Mark 8:11 πειράζοντες testing

Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.

Here: 'Testing.' They are probing Jesus to expose him. It is not enticement to sin in the modern sense of 'tempt.' In Mark the same verb is used of Satan (1:13) and of opponents setting traps (10:2; 12:15), so the motive is shown as hostile.

Mark 10:2 πειράζοντες testing

Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.

Here: 'Testing him': putting him to a hostile test to expose or trap him. It is not 'tempting him to sin'. The phrase states the motive behind the question.

Mark 12:15 πειράζετε; do you test?

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to inspect.”

Luke 4:2 πειραζόμενος being tempted

where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

Here: A present passive participle, "being tested." The present tense pictures ongoing action, so in Luke the testing runs through the forty days and does not only arrive at the end. With the devil as the one doing it, the aim is to make him fail.

Luke 11:16 πειράζοντες testing

And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

John 6:6 πειράζων testing

But He was asking this to test him, for He knew what He was about to do.

Here: "Testing." The participle gives the purpose of the question. It was meant to try Philip and draw out what he would think and trust, not to lead him into sin. The narrator says this to make clear Jesus was not asking for information.

Acts 5:9 πειράσαι to test

“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

Here: To put the Spirit to the test, as if to find out whether God present in the community would actually notice or act. This is the language of Israel testing God in the wilderness, not 'tempting' in the modern sense of enticing.

Acts 9:26 ἐπείραζεν he was trying

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

Acts 15:10 πειράζετε are you testing

Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

Here: Present tense, 'are you testing.' It describes what the circumcision party's demand amounts to right now. With God as the object it recalls Israel at Massah: demanding more proof after God has already shown his will.

Acts 16:7 ἐπείραζον they were attempting

And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.

Acts 24:6 ἐπείρασεν attempted

and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

Here: Here it plainly means 'attempted, tried'. There is no sense of 'tempting'. The single-event past tense presents it as one definite attempt. It is also a quiet step back from the crowd's claim in 21:28 that he actually *had* defiled the place.

1 Corinthians 7:5 πειράζῃ may tempt

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

Here: Here clearly "tempt" toward sin, specifically the sexual wrongdoing (porneia) named in 7:2. The present tense suggests continuing pressure.

1 Corinthians 10:9 ἐπείρασαν, tested,

We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

Here: 'Tested.' The aorist tense sums up the past event as a whole. No object is stated, so the most natural reading carries over 'Christ' from the first clause: they tested the same one.

1 Corinthians 10:13 πειρασθῆναι to be tempted

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

Here: Passive: 'to be put to the test'. The verb comes from the same root as the noun in the first word.

2 Corinthians 13:5 πειράζετε do examine

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test?

Here: A present-tense plural command: "keep putting yourselves to the test." Here it means a check of what is really true, not temptation to sin.

Galatians 6:1 πειρασθῇς. may be tempted.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Here: Be put to the test or drawn into sin. That could mean the same lapse, or the pride and harshness that come easily to someone correcting another (5:26; 6:3).

1 Thessalonians 3:5 ἐπείρασεν πειράζων tempted, tempting

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

Here: An aorist indicative after 'lest'. Paul fears something that may already have happened without his knowing: 'the tester may have put you to the test' (and succeeded).

Hebrews 2:18 πειρασθείς, πειραζομένοις having been tempted,, being tempted

Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Here: "Having been put to the test." A completed event linked closely to the suffering: the testing came through the suffering, or the suffering came in the testing. The word covers trial under hardship as well as enticement to do wrong. Here the context is suffering and the fear of death.

Hebrews 3:9 ἐπείρασαν tried

where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.

Here: 'They put [God] to the test.' The past tense sums up the whole wilderness episode as one completed act. The people are the ones testing, and God is the one on trial, made to prove himself on demand.

Hebrews 4:15 πεπειρασμένον tempted

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

Here: Perfect participle: he went through testing in the past, and the result is a lasting condition. He is now and always one who has been tested. The verb covers being tested and tried by hardship as well as being enticed to do wrong.

Hebrews 11:17 πειραζόμενος, Being tested,

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

Here: "Being tested": present passive participle, so the test was going on at the moment of the offering. It echoes Genesis 22:1 in the Greek Old Testament, 'God was testing Abraham.' This is a proving of loyalty, not an enticement to sin.

James 1:13 πειραζόμενος πειράζομαι· πειράζει being tempted, I am being tempted;, tempts

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

Here: 'While being tested/tempted'. It is the same word family James has just used for the 'trials' of 1:2 and 1:12. Here it begins to slide toward its darker sense: the pull toward doing wrong.

James 1:14 πειράζεται is tempted

But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

Here: Present passive: 'is being tested/tempted'. The present states a general truth, how temptation always works. In verses 13–14 the word means being pulled toward wrongdoing. It is the same word family James used for the 'trials' of verses 2 and 12.

Revelation 2:2 ἐπείρασας you have tested

I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles.

Here: 'You put [them] to the test.' The past tense points to an actual episode, or episodes, of examining visitors. It does not mean 'tempt' here.

Revelation 2:10 πειρασθῆτε, you may be tested,

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Here: "That you may be put to the test". The devil's aim is to break their loyalty. Within the letter, the same ordeal is also where their loyalty is proved.

Revelation 3:10 πειράσαι to try

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Here: Gives the hour's purpose: to test. The verb repeats the noun "testing" and so stresses it.