Luke 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil.[a] 1 Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert 2 for forty days, where he was tempted by the devil. During that time he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was famished.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to be transformed into bread.” 4 Jesus answered him: “As it states in Scripture:
‘Man does not live by bread alone.’ ”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in a single instant all the kingdoms of the world, 6 saying to him, “To you will I give all this dominion with its accompanying glory, for it has been delivered into my power, and I can bestow it on whomever I choose. 7 All this will be yours if you worship me.” 8 Jesus answered him: “Scripture says:
‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him alone shall you serve.’ ”
9 Next the devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the summit of the temple. Then he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for according to Scripture:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and:
‘With their hands they will raise you up
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “Scripture says:
‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
13 When the devil had ended all his tempting, he departed from him until an opportune time.
The Ministry of Jesus in Galilee[b]
14 Jesus Is Accepted throughout Galilee. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and reports about him began to spread throughout the surrounding region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 Jesus at Nazareth.[c]When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the passage where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed intently on him.
21 Then he began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All present spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that flowed from his lips. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
23 He said to them, “Undoubtedly you will quote to me the proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself,’ and say: ‘Do here in your hometown[d] the deeds we have heard that you performed in Capernaum.’ 24 Amen, I say to you,” he went on, “no prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 [e]“I tell you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the skies remained closed for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet it was to none of them that Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 There were also many people with leprosy in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but not one of these was cleansed except for Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard these words, all the people in the synagogue were roused to fury.[f] 29 They leapt up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the top of the hill upon which their town was built, intending to hurl him off the cliff. 30 However, he passed through the midst of the crowd and went on his way.
31 Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon.[g]Jesus then went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and began to teach the people on the Sabbath. 32 They were astounded at his teaching because his message had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he shrieked loudly, 34 “Leave us alone! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”[h] 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and emerged from him without doing him any harm. 36 The people were all amazed, and they said to one another: “What is this teaching? For with authority and power he gives commands to unclean spirits, and they come forth.” 37 And reports about him began to spread throughout the entire region.
38 Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law. On leaving the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they begged him to help her. 39 Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.
40 Jesus Ministers throughout Galilee. At sunset they brought to him all those who were sick with various diseases. He laid his hands on each of them and healed them. 41 Demons also emerged from many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.
42 Jesus Is the Envoy of God for All Israel.[i] At daybreak he departed and made his way to a secluded place. But the crowds went forth in search of him, and when they located him, they tried to prevent him from leaving there. 43 However, he said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, because this was the purpose for which I was sent.” 44 Thus, he continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.
Footnotes
- Luke 4:1 By means of images, we are shown the drama Jesus experienced in his conscience, his struggle to follow with determination the great options of his existence. He knows the temptations for immediate success, domination, and prestige, the temptations to which Israel succumbed during its sojourn in the desert and that remain the lot of the Church, every believer, and every person. Jesus refuses to use his powers for his own benefit but accepts poverty and destitution; he does not seek the glory of a political Messiah and does not yield to the idols of power. He turns away from the seduction of prestige; when he goes to Jerusalem it will not be to mount the pinnacle of the temple but to carry the supreme trial of the cross.
There is, in this choice without compromise, a radical recognition of God and the true values he is forever giving us to reflect upon. The victory of Christ over the forces of evil foreshadows the power of his mission (see Lk 10:18; 11:22; 12:16), which is achieved through patience on the cross and the triumph of the Resurrection after the final attacks of the spirit of evil (see Lk 22:3, 53). To live with Christ is to accept this struggle humbly and resolutely. - Luke 4:14 The Gospel does not try to reconstitute an exact chronology and geography of the life of Christ. Its intention is to present to us the sayings and actions of the Lord, to arouse and renew our faith in him, and to make us grasp the essential requirements of our existence. As in Matthew and Mark, the first stage of Jesus’ mission, which takes place in Galilee, leads to the recognition of Jesus as it moves from the first question about him to the profession of faith.
- Luke 4:16 By reading his own vocation and mission in the great passage from Isaiah (61:1), Jesus will direct the thinking of the Church and every apostle: God’s work is to proclaim salvation to the poor and the oppressed.
- Luke 4:23 Hometown: i.e., Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up. Capernaum: see notes on Mt 4:12-17; 4:12; and 4:13.
- Luke 4:25 These verses illustrate the theme of universal salvation, so dear to Luke, with allusions to the miracles of Elijah and Elisha (1 Ki 17; 2 Ki 5).
- Luke 4:28 The words of Jesus hinted at the rejection of the people of Israel and the election of the Gentiles. The people of Nazareth become infuriated, but Jesus escapes their fury in a mysterious manner.
- Luke 4:31 In the Gospel, the accounts of miracles are intended to attest, first of all, that God the Savior is present for people in Jesus Christ. There is a sensible and visible evil in the sickness, wherein we see hostile forces at work. Christ brings healing; he changes the condition of human beings and saves them from alienation. Demons are sharper than humans in penetrating the divine powers of him who frees humans from the grip of death. However, Jesus reduces them to silence, because he does not want people to regard him as a triumphant liberator but to discover, in his words and actions as man amidst his human brothers and sisters, the true visage of the Messiah, Son of God.
- Luke 4:34 See note on Mk 1:24.
- Luke 4:42 The good news of the kingdom, this announcement of the coming of God (Lk 4:18; 6:20-28), must reach all human beings.
Luke 4
Young's Literal Translation
4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness,
2 forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered,
3 and the Devil said to him, `If Son thou art of God, speak to this stone that it may become bread.'
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, `It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.'
5 And the Devil having brought him up to an high mountain, shewed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6 and the Devil said to him, `To thee I will give all this authority, and their glory, because to me it hath been delivered, and to whomsoever I will, I do give it;
7 thou, then, if thou mayest bow before me -- all shall be thine.'
8 And Jesus answering him said, `Get thee behind me, Adversary, for it hath been written, Thou shalt bow before the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve.'
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, `If the Son thou art of God, cast thyself down hence,
10 for it hath been written -- To His messengers He will give charge concerning thee, to guard over thee,
11 and -- On hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou mayest dash against a stone thy foot.'
12 And Jesus answering said to him -- `It hath been said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'
13 And having ended all temptation, the Devil departed from him till a convenient season.
14 And Jesus turned back in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a fame went forth through all the region round about concerning him,
15 and he was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he hath been brought up, and he went in, according to his custom, on the sabbath-day, to the synagogue, and stood up to read;
17 and there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written:
18 `The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance,
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'
20 And having folded the roll, having given [it] back to the officer, he sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing on him.
21 And he began to say unto them -- `To-day hath this writing been fulfilled in your ears;'
22 and all were bearing testimony to him, and were wondering at the gracious words that are coming forth out of his mouth, and they said, `Is not this the son of Joseph?'
23 And he said unto them, `Certainly ye will say to me this simile, Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;'
24 and he said, `Verily I say to you -- No prophet is accepted in his own country;
25 and of a truth I say to you, Many widows were in the days of Elijah, in Israel, when the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine came on all the land,
26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but -- to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman, a widow;
27 and many lepers were in the time of Elisha the prophet, in Israel, and none of them was cleansed, but -- Naaman the Syrian.'
28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things,
29 and having risen, they put him forth without the city, and brought him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built -- to cast him down headlong,
30 and he, having gone through the midst of them, went away.
31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbaths,
32 and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with authority.
33 And in the synagogue was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a great voice,
34 saying, `Away, what -- to us and to thee, Jesus, O Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art -- the Holy One of God.'
35 And Jesus did rebuke him, saying, `Be silenced, and come forth out of him;' and the demon having cast him into the midst, came forth from him, having hurt him nought;
36 and amazement came upon all, and they were speaking together, with one another, saying, `What [is] this word, that with authority and power he doth command the unclean spirits, and they come forth?'
37 and there was going forth a fame concerning him to every place of the region round about.
38 And having risen out of the synagogue, he entered into the house of Simon, and the mother-in-law of Simon was pressed with a great fever, and they did ask him about her,
39 and having stood over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her, and presently, having risen, she was ministering to them.
40 And at the setting of the sun, all, as many as had any ailing with manifold sicknesses, brought them unto him, and he on each one of them [his] hands having put, did heal them.
41 And demons also were coming forth from many, crying out and saying -- `Thou art the Christ, the Son of God;' and rebuking, he did not suffer them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.
42 And day having come, having gone forth, he went on to a desert place, and the multitudes were seeking him, and they came unto him, and were staying him -- not to go on from them,
43 and he said unto them -- `Also to the other cities it behoveth me to proclaim good news of the reign of God, because for this I have been sent;'
44 and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Luke 4
New King James Version
Satan Tempts Jesus(A)
4 Then (B)Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and (C)was led by the Spirit [a]into the wilderness, 2 being [b]tempted for forty days by the devil. And (D)in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are (E)the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, (F)‘Man shall not live by bread alone, [c]but by every word of God.’ ”
5 [d]Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for (G)this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, [e]“Get behind Me, Satan! [f]For it is written, (H)‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 (I)Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
(J)‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
(K)‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, (L)‘You shall not [g]tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every [h]temptation, he departed from Him (M)until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry(N)
14 (O)Then Jesus returned (P)in the power of the Spirit to (Q)Galilee, and (R)news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He (S)taught in their synagogues, (T)being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth(U)
16 So He came to (V)Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, (W)He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “The(X) Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me [i]to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To (Y)set at liberty those who are [j]oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is (Z)fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and (AA)marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, (AB)“Is this not Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in (AC)Capernaum,[k] do also here in (AD)Your country.’ ” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no (AE)prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, (AF)many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to [l]Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 (AG)And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were (AH)filled with [m]wrath, 29 (AI)and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then (AJ)passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit(AK)
31 Then (AL)He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were (AM)astonished at His teaching, (AN)for His word was with authority. 33 (AO)Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? (AP)I know who You are—(AQ)the Holy One of God!”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, [n]“Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed(AR)
38 (AS)Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was [o]sick with a high fever, and they (AT)made request of Him concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and (AU)rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset(AV)
40 (AW)When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 (AX)And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, (AY)“You are [p]the Christ, the Son of God!”
And He, (AZ)rebuking them, did not allow them to [q]speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee(BA)
42 (BB)Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43 but He said to them, “I must (BC)preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 (BD)And He was preaching in the synagogues of [r]Galilee.
Footnotes
- Luke 4:1 NU in
- Luke 4:2 tested
- Luke 4:4 NU omits but by every word of God
- Luke 4:5 NU And taking Him up, he showed Him
- Luke 4:8 NU omits Get behind Me, Satan
- Luke 4:8 NU, M omit For
- Luke 4:12 test
- Luke 4:13 testing
- Luke 4:18 NU omits to heal the brokenhearted
- Luke 4:18 downtrodden
- Luke 4:23 NU Capharnaum, here and elsewhere
- Luke 4:26 Gr. Sarepta
- Luke 4:28 rage
- Luke 4:35 Lit. Be muzzled
- Luke 4:38 afflicted with
- Luke 4:41 NU omits the Christ
- Luke 4:41 Or say that they knew
- Luke 4:44 NU Judea
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
