Does God tempt people or not?
Genesis 22:1 and James 1:13
- God tempted Abraham (Genesis 22:1) - "Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
A. The KJV says, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am"
- God tempts no one (James 1:13) - "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone."
According to the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, the word "test" (NASB), "tempt" (KJV) is nacah. It means "1) to test, try, 2) to attempt, assay, try, 3) to test, try, prove, tempt." This is why the KJV translated it as "tempt" and NASB, NIV, NKJV, ESV, and RSV translate it as "test." Therefore, it was a test that God offered to Abraham, not a temptation to sin.
