But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘(A)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil *took Him along into (B)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:

(C)He will give His angels orders concerning You’;

and

On their hands they will lift You up,
So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, [a]On the other hand, it is written: ‘(D)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

(E)Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “(F)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [b]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘(G)You shall worship the Lord your God, and [c]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, (H)angels came and began to serve Him.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 4:7 Or Again
  2. Matthew 4:9 Lit prostrate Yourself to
  3. Matthew 4:10 Or fulfill religious duty to Him

But he answered,[a] “It is written, ‘Man[b] does not live[c] by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”[d] Then the devil took him to the holy city,[e] had him stand[f] on the highest point[g] of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you[h] and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”[i] Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[j] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.[k] And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship[l] me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away,[m] Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”[n] 11 Then the devil left him, and angels[o] came and began ministering to his needs.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 4:4 tn Grk “answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokritheis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been changed for clarity.
  2. Matthew 4:4 tn Or “a person.” Greek ὁ ἄνθρωπος (ho anthrōpos) is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.
  3. Matthew 4:4 tn Grk “will not live.” The verb in Greek is a future tense, but it is unclear whether it is meant to be taken as a command (also known as an imperatival future) or as a statement of reality (predictive future).
  4. Matthew 4:4 sn A quotation from Deut 8:3.
  5. Matthew 4:5 sn The order of the second and third temptations are reversed in Luke’s account (4:5-12) from the order given in Matthew. Scholars differ on which account represents the original order of the temptations, but it seems likely that whichever is original, the other was changed by the author of that gospel for literary reasons.
  6. Matthew 4:5 tn Grk “and he stood him.”
  7. Matthew 4:5 sn What the highest point of the temple refers to is unclear. Perhaps the most popular suggestion is that the word refers to the point on the temple’s southeast corner where it looms directly over a cliff some 450 ft (135 m) high. Others have suggested the reference could be to the roof of the temple or a projection of the roof; still others see a reference to the lintel of the temple’s high gate, or a tower in the temple courts. The Greek word itself could be literally translated “winglet” (a diminutive of the Greek word for “wing”) which may have been chosen as a wordplay on the reference to safety under the “wings” of God in Ps 91:4, the same psalm quoted by the devil in the following verse.
  8. Matthew 4:6 sn A quotation from Ps 91:11. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage). Ps 91 addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger. As Jesus points out in his reply, however, this protection does not extend to cases where the intent is to put the Lord to the test.
  9. Matthew 4:6 sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.
  10. Matthew 4:7 sn A quotation from Deut 6:16.
  11. Matthew 4:8 tn Grk “glory.”
  12. Matthew 4:9 tn Grk “if, falling down, you will worship.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
  13. Matthew 4:10 tc The majority of witnesses (C2 D L Z Γ 33 1241 1424 M) have “behind me” (ὀπίσω μου; opisō mou) after “Go away.” But since this is the wording in Matt 16:23, where the text is certain, scribes most likely added the words here to conform to the later passage. Further, the shorter reading has superior support (א B C*vid K P W Δ 0233 ƒ1, 13 565 579* 700). Thus, both externally and internally, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.
  14. Matthew 4:10 sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion in the Greek text of the NT not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.
  15. Matthew 4:11 tn Grk “and behold, angels.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]

Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[b]

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[c]

Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’[d]

11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

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