The Temptation of Jesus^(A)

4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil. ² Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. ³ The devil^[a] came to tempt him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered him, “The Scriptures say,

⁵ Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place at the edge of the Temple area. ⁶ He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off, because the Scriptures say,

⁷ Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”^[b]

⁸ Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them. ⁹ The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say,

¹¹ So the devil left him. Then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.

¹⁴ But you should continue following the teaching you learned. You know it is true, because you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Scriptures^[a] since you were a child. These Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. ¹⁷ Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.