Put the LORD your God to the test: this means to try to make God do something extraordinary in order to prove that he cares for his people (see Isa 7.10-12; and see in Matt 4.5-7; Luke 4.9-12, the context in which Jesus cited this text). Contemporary English Version brings this idea out, with “so don’t try to make the LORD prove that he can help you,” or we may say “so don’t try to make the LORD your God do a marvelous thing to prove that he cares for you.” For the LORD your God see 1.6.

As you treated him at Massah: see Exo 17.1-7.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .