Matthew 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil.[a]1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was famished.
3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God,[b] command these stones to be transformed into loaves of bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “As it is written:
‘Man does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ ”[c]
5 Next the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the summit of the temple.[d] 6 [e]Then he said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and with their hands they will raise you up
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is also written:
‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8 Finally, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. 9 Then he said to him, “All these will I give you if you kneel down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him in reply, “Depart from me, Satan! It is written:
‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him alone shall you serve.’ ”[f]
11 Then the devil departed from him, and suddenly angels came and ministered to him.
12 Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee.[g]When Jesus learned that John had been arrested,[h] he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Departing from Nazareth, he settled in Capernaum[i] by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the passageway to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who lived in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who dwell in a land darkened by the shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17 From that day forward Jesus began to proclaim the message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”
18 Jesus Calls the First Disciples.[j] As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the water, for they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately, they abandoned their nets and followed him.
21 As he proceeded farther, he saw two more brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately, they left their boat and their father and followed him.
23 Jesus Proclaims the Message and Heals the Sick.[k] Jesus traveled all throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every type of disease and illness among the people. 24 His reputation spread throughout Syria,[l] and they brought to him all those who were sick, afflicted with various diseases, racked with pain, or possessed by demons, as well as those who were stricken with epilepsy or paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Great throngs from Galilee, the Decapolis,[m] Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan, followed him.
Footnotes
- Matthew 4:1 This important passage is again filled with echoes and citations of the Old Testament. The intention is to show the experience and struggles of the Messiah, the new head of the People of God. Just as Moses remained forty days on Sinai, so the Messiah remains forty days in the wilderness (Ex 34:28), forty days being symbolic of a time of preparation for divinely planned activities. Jesus refuses to make use of his miraculous power simply to relieve human need (v. 3f), or to satisfy requests of unbelievers (v. 5ff), or to embrace a Messianic role that would be purely political. The basic theme is the obedience of Jesus to God as he is known through the Old Testament. He rebuffs all three temptations with Scriptural truth from Deuteronomy.
- Matthew 4:3 If you are the Son of God: in the sense of the Messianic King of Ps 2.
- Matthew 4:4 A citation of Deut 8:3, indicating that the miracles of the Exodus were signs of God’s religious care for Israel.
- Matthew 4:5 Summit of the temple: the southeast corner of the wall of the Jerusalem temple, projecting over a ravine.
- Matthew 4:6 The devil applies Ps 91:11-12 to the Messiah since it deals with God’s protection of the righteous. Jesus declares (through the words of Deut 6:16) that we should not demand miracles from God as evidence of his care for us.
- Matthew 4:10 The citation (Deut 6:13) used by Jesus calls for the basic attitude of worship that everyone should have toward God.
- Matthew 4:12 By action and word Jesus inaugurates the kingdom of heaven. The phrase means the kingdom of God, but, like the Jews of his time, Matthew avoids naming God and says, instead, “heaven.” This kingdom or reign is a power that will continue to make its way into the world from now on. Jesus begins his activity in Galilee, a northern province, which some, thinking of Isa 8:23 and 9:1, regarded as the Messiah’s land. It was a region in which different populations and religions lived side by side. The faithful followers of Yahweh, who were pretty much cut off from Jerusalem and its temple, gathered in the synagogues. Different populations, even in the pagan Decapolis (a confederation of ten independent Greek cities, beyond the Jordan), acknowledge the Messiah.
- Matthew 4:12 John had been arrested: after John’s arrest (v. 12), Jesus makes Capernaum the center of his activity (v. 13) and preaching (v. 17). The citation from Isa 9:1-2 identifies the ministry of Jesus as fulfilling the prophecy of the restoration of the northern kingdom defeated by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. See notes on Mk 1:14 and Lk 3:20.
- Matthew 4:13 Capernaum: on the shore of the Lake (in Hebrew: Sea) of Galilee (v. 18), also known as the Lake of Tiberias or Gennesaret, in territory that had belonged to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
- Matthew 4:18 We see the first Church being born; disciples follow the Lord not only to share intimacy with him but to be fishers of men, to be witnesses to him and gather together people in his name—for he is the Messiah. Three of the four (Simon, James, and John) will go on to hold a closer relationship with Jesus (see Mt 17:1; 26:37; Lk 8:51).
- Matthew 4:23 As a conclusion to the first part of his Gospel, Matthew gives a summary of Jesus’ ministry, which consisted in teaching, preaching, and healing (v. 23; see also Mt 9:35).
- Matthew 4:24 Syria: the area north of Galilee, between Damascus and the Mediterranean Sea.
- Matthew 4:25 Decapolis (i.e., the Ten Cities): a league of Greek cities; all were east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River except Sythcopolis (Beth Shan).
马太福音 4
Revised Chinese Union Version (Simplified Script) Shen Edition
耶稣受试探(A)
4 当时，耶稣被圣灵引到旷野，受魔鬼的试探。 2 他禁食四十昼夜，后来就饿了。 3 那试探者进前来对他说：“你若是 神的儿子，叫这些石头变成食物吧。” 4 耶稣却回答说：“经上记着：
‘人活着，不是单靠食物，
乃是靠 神口里所出的一切话。’”
5 魔鬼就带他进了圣城，叫他站在圣殿顶上， 6 对他说：“你若是 神的儿子，就跳下去！因为经上记着：
‘主要为你命令他的使者，
用手托住你，
免得你的脚碰在石头上。’”
7 耶稣对他说：“经上又记着：‘不可试探主—你的 神。’” 8 魔鬼又带他上了一座很高的山，将世上的万国和万国的荣华都指给他看， 9 对他说：“你若俯伏拜我，我就把这一切赐给你。” 10 耶稣说：“撒但[a]，退去！因为经上记着：
‘要拜主—你的 神，
惟独事奉他。’”
11 于是，魔鬼离开了耶稣，立刻有天使来伺候他。
开始在加利利传道(B)
12 耶稣听见约翰下了监，就退到加利利去； 13 后来离开拿撒勒，往迦百农去，住在那里。那地方靠海，在西布伦和拿弗他利地区。 14 这是要应验以赛亚先知所说的话：
15 “西布伦，拿弗他利，
沿海的路，约旦河的东边，
外邦人的加利利—
16 那坐在黑暗里的百姓
看见了大光；
坐在死荫之地的人
有光照耀他们。”
17 从那时候，耶稣开始宣讲，说：“你们要悔改！因为天国近了。”
呼召四个渔夫(C)
18 耶稣沿着加利利海边行走，看见两兄弟，就是那叫彼得的西门和他弟弟安得烈，正往海里撒网；他们本是打鱼的。 19 耶稣对他们说：“来跟从我，我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。” 20 他们立刻舍了网，跟从他。 21 耶稣从那里往前走，看见另外两兄弟，就是西庇太的儿子雅各和他弟弟约翰，同他们的父亲西庇太在船上补网，耶稣就呼召他们。 22 他们立刻舍了船，辞别父亲，跟从了耶稣。
向大众传道(D)
23 耶稣走遍加利利，在各会堂里教导人，宣讲天国的福音，医治百姓各样的疾病。 24 他的名声传遍了叙利亚。那里的人把一切病人，就是有各样疾病和疼痛的、被鬼附的、癫痫的、瘫痪的，都带了来，耶稣就治好了他们。 25 当时，有一大群人从加利利、低加坡里、耶路撒冷、犹太、约旦河的东边，来跟从他。
Footnotes
- 4．10 “撒但”就是敌对者的意思，是魔鬼的别名。
和合本修訂版經文 © 2006, 2010, 2017 香港聖經公會。蒙允許使用。 Scripture Text of Revised Chinese Union Version © 2006, 2010, 2017 Hong Kong Bible Society. www.hkbs.org.hk/en/ Used by permission.