Matthew 4:1-14

Easy-to-Read Version

The Temptation of Jesus^(A)

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

⁴Jesus answered him, “The Scriptures say,

‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive.
Their lives depend on what God says.’” ^(B)

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

‘God will command his angels to help you,
and their hands will catch you,
so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” ^(C)

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

⁸Then 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. ⁹The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”

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

‘You must worship the Lord your God.
Serve only him!’” ^(D)

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

Jesus Begins His Work in Galilee^(E)

¹²Jesus heard that John was put in prison, so he went back to Galilee. ¹³But he did not stay in Nazareth. He went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴He did this to give full meaning to what the prophet Isaiah said:

Read full chapter