Matthew 4
English Standard Version
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (B)to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting (C)forty days and forty nights, he (D)was hungry. 3 And (E)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are (F)the Son of God, command (G)these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, (H)“It is written,
(I)“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 (J)Then the devil took him to (K)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
(L)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again (M)it is written, (N)‘You shall not (O)put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 (P)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, (Q)Satan! For (R)it is written,
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, (U)angels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that (V)John had been arrested, (W)he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving (X)Nazareth he went and lived in (Y)Capernaum by (Z)the sea, in the territory of (AA)Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 (AB)so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 (AC)“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 (AD)the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and (AE)shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”
17 (AF)From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, (AG)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a]
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 (AH)While walking by (AI)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 (AJ)fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 (AK)And he went throughout all Galilee, (AL)teaching in their synagogues and (AM)proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and (AN)healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all (AO)Syria, and (AP)they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and (AQ)pains, (AR)those oppressed by demons, (AS)those having seizures, and (AT)paralytics, and he healed them. 25 (AU)And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the (AV)Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:17 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near
- Matthew 4:19 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women
Matthew 4
New American Standard Bible
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (B)to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had (C)fasted for forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry. 3 And (D)the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the (E)Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘(F)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil *took Him along into (G)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:
‘(H)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.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “[b]On the other hand, it is written: ‘(I)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 (J)Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “(K)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘(L)You shall worship the Lord your God, and [d]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, (M)angels came and began to serve Him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when Jesus heard that (N)John had been taken into custody, (O)He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and (P)settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:
15 “(Q)The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
[e]By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the [f]Gentiles—
16 (R)The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 (S)From that time Jesus began to [g]preach and say, “(T)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
The First Disciples
18 (U)Now as Jesus was walking by (V)the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, (W)Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “[h]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, [i](X)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother [j]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.
Ministry in Galilee
23 Jesus was going (Y)about in all of Galilee, (Z)teaching in their synagogues and (AA)proclaiming the [k]gospel of the kingdom, and (AB)healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
24 And the news about Him spread (AC)throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, (AD)demon-possessed, people with (AE)epilepsy, and people who were (AF)paralyzed; and He healed them. 25 Large crowds (AG)followed Him from Galilee and (AH)the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from (AI)beyond the Jordan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:2 Or later became; or afterward became
- Matthew 4:7 Or Again
- Matthew 4:9 Lit prostrate Yourself to
- Matthew 4:10 Or fulfill religious duty to Him
- Matthew 4:15 Or Toward the sea
- Matthew 4:15 Lit nations, usually non-Jewish
- Matthew 4:17 Or proclaim
- Matthew 4:19 Or Come after Me
- Matthew 4:21 Or Jacob
- Matthew 4:21 Gr Joannes, for Heb Johanan
- Matthew 4:23 Or good news
Matthew 4
New Testament for Everyone
Temptation in the wilderness
4 Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the spirit to be tested by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and at the end of it was famished. 3 Then the tempter approached him.
“If you really are God’s son,” he said, “tell these stones to become bread!”
4 “The Bible says,” replied Jesus, “that it takes more than bread to keep you alive. You actually live on every word that comes out of God’s mouth.”
5 Then the devil took him off to the holy city, and stood him on a pinnacle of the Temple.
6 “If you really are God’s son,” he said, “throw yourself down. The Bible does say, after all, that ‘God will give his angels a command about you’; and ‘they will carry you in their hands, so that you won’t hurt your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 “But the Bible also says,” replied Jesus, “that you mustn’t put the Lord your God to the test!”
8 Then the devil took him off again, this time to a very high mountain. There he showed him all the magnificent kingdoms of the world.
9 “I’ll give the whole lot to you,” he said, “if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of it, satan!” replied Jesus. “The Bible says, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone!’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and looked after him.
Announcing the kingdom
12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he went off to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth, and went to live at Capernaum, a small town by the sea in the region of Zebulon and Naphtali. 14 This happened so that the word spoken through Isaiah the prophet might come true:
15 The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali,
the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee, land of the nations:
16 the people who sat in the dark saw a great light;
light dawned on those who sat in the shadowy land of death.
17 From that time on Jesus began to make his proclamation.
“Repent!” he would say. “The kingdom of heaven is arriving!”
Jesus calls the disciples
18 As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (also called Peter) and Andrew his brother. They were fishermen, and were casting nets into the sea.
19 “Follow me!” said Jesus. “I’ll make you fish for people!”
20 Straight away they abandoned their nets and followed him.
21 He went on further, and saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother. They were in the boat, mending their nets, with Zebedee their father. He called them. 22 At once they left the boat, and their father, and followed him.
23 He went on through the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing every disease and every illness among the people.
24 Word about him went out around the whole of Syria. They brought to him all the people tormented with various kinds of diseases and ailments, demon-possessed people, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, Judaea and beyond the Jordan.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
