Luke 4:1-13

Contemporary English Version

Jesus and the Devil

(Matthew 4.1-11; Mark 1.12,13)

4 When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. ²For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating.^[a] When it was all over, he was hungry.

³The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God's Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.”

⁴^(A) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘No one can live only on food.’ ”

⁵Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. ⁶The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷Just worship me, and you can have it all.”

⁸^(B) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:

‘Worship the Lord your God
and serve only him!’ ”

⁹Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off. ^10-11^(C) The Scriptures say:

‘God will tell his angels
    to take care of you.
They will catch you
    in their arms,
and you will not even hurt
    your feet on the stones.’ ”

¹²^(D) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”

¹³After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.

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