Matthew 4
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when Jesus[a] heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[b]
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People
23 Jesus[c] went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news[d] of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:12 Gk he
- Matthew 4:17 Or is at hand
- Matthew 4:23 Gk He
- Matthew 4:23 Gk gospel
Matthew 4
Contemporary English Version
Jesus and the Devil
(Mark 1.12,13; Luke 4.1-13)
4 (A) The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him. 2 After Jesus had gone without eating[a] for 40 days and nights, he was very hungry. 3 Then the devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.”
4 (B) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:
‘No one can live only on food.
People need every word
that God has spoken.’ ”
5 Next, the devil took Jesus into the holy city to the highest part of the temple. 6 (C) The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off. The Scriptures say:
‘God will give his angels
orders about you.
They will catch you
in their arms,
and you won't hurt
your feet on the stones.’ ”
7 (D) Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”
8 Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 (E) Jesus answered, “Go away Satan! The Scriptures say:
‘Worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.
Jesus Begins His Work
(Mark 1.14,15; Luke 4.14,15)
12 (F) When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went to Galilee. 13 (G) But instead of staying in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum. This town was beside Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.[b] 14 So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,
15 (H) “Listen, lands of Zebulun
and Naphtali,
lands along the road
to the sea
and across the Jordan.
Listen Galilee,
land of the Gentiles!
16 Although your people
live in darkness,
they will see
a bright light.
Although they live
in the shadow of death,
a light will shine
on them.”
17 (I) Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”[c]
Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen
(Mark 1.16-20; Luke 5.1-11)
18 While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. 19 Jesus said to them, “Follow me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 20 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
21 Jesus walked on until he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus asked them to come with him. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Jesus.
Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals
(Luke 6.17-19)
23 (J) Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news about God's kingdom. He also healed every kind of disease and sickness. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people with every kind of sickness or disease were brought to him. Some of them had a lot of demons in them, others were thought to be crazy,[d] and still others could not walk. But Jesus healed them all.
25 Large crowds followed Jesus from Galilee and the region around the ten cities known as Decapolis.[e] They also came from Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan River.
Footnotes
- 4.2 without eating: The Jewish people sometimes went without eating (also called “fasting”) to show their love for God or to show sorrow for their sins.
- 4.13 Zebulun and Naphtali: In Old Testament times these tribes were in northern Palestine, and in New Testament times many Gentiles lived where these tribes had once been.
- 4.17 The kingdom of heaven will soon be here: See the two notes at 3.2.
- 4.24 thought to be crazy: In ancient times people with epilepsy were thought to be crazy.
- 4.25 the ten cities known as Decapolis: A group of ten cities east of Samaria and Galilee, where the people followed the Greek way of life.
Matthew 4
Complete Jewish Bible
4 Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. 2 After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “The Tanakh says,
‘Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”[a]
5 Then the Adversary took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the Temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “jump! For the Tanakh says,
‘He will order his angels to be responsible for you. . . .
They will support you with their hands,
so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”[b]
7 Yeshua replied to him, “But it also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your God to the test.’”[c]
8 Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit of a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, 9 and said to him, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 “Away with you, Satan!” Yeshua told him, “For the Tanakh says,
‘Worship Adonai your God, and serve only him.’” [d]
11 Then the Adversary let him alone, and angels came and took care of him.
12 When Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been put in prison, he returned to the Galil; 13 but he left Natzeret and came to live in K’far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z’vulun and Naftali. 14 This happened in order to fulfill what Yesha‘yahu the prophet had said,
15 “Land of Z’vulun and land of Naftali,
toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim —
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death,
light has dawned.” [e]
17 From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”
18 As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. 19 Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them. 22 At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.
23 Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness. 24 Word of him spread throughout all Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill, suffering from various diseases and pains, and those held in the power of demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and he healed them. 25 Huge crowds followed him from the Galil, the Ten Towns, Yerushalayim, Y’hudah, and ‘Ever-HaYarden.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3
- Matthew 4:6 Psalm 91:11–12
- Matthew 4:7 Deuteronomy 6:16
- Matthew 4:10 Deuteronomy 6:13–14
- Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 8:23(9:1)–9:1(2)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.