Matthew 4:10

“Then Jesus says to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and him alone you shall serve.’””

Matthew 4:10 · direct translation from the Greek
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The devil offers all the kingdoms in exchange for worship; Jesus refusesTemptation

With the Greek beneath

10

Quotation · Deuteronomy 6:13

Go to Deuteronomy 6:13

Where Deuteronomy says “you shall fear,” Matthew says “you shall bow down,” and adds “alone.”

Formula: γέγραπται γάρ “for it is written” (Matthew 4:10)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ὕπαγε Σατανᾶ γέγραπται γάρ Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις

Hebrew (Masoretic text): אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא וְאֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד וּבִשְׁמוֹ תִּשָּׁבֵעַ

Septuagint (Deuteronomy 6:13 in the Septuagint numbering): Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ καὶ αὐτῷ λατρεύσεις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν κολληθήσῃ, καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ὀμῇ.

In the Septuagint verse that most resembles it, at most 4 consecutive words match the Greek of the NT. The transcription has reading errors, so a match may not show.

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Matthew 4:10, word by word

Thenτότεtote

then

Then, at that time.

Where else “tote” appears
JesusἸησοῦςIēsous

Jesus

Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).

Where else “Iēsous” appears
saysλέγειlegei

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “legei” appears
“Go awayὝπαγεHypage

go away

Go away, leave; "go!".

Where else “Hypage” appears
SatanΣατανᾶSatana

Satan

Satan, a Hebrew name meaning "the adversary", the enemy of God.

Where else “Satana” appears
it is writtenγέγραπταιgegraptai

it is written

So the Bible says; a passage is quoted.

Where else “gegraptai” appears
‘You shall bow down beforeπροσκυνήσειςproskynēseis

bow down

To bow to the ground before someone.

Where else “proskynēseis” appears
the LordΚύριονKyrion

Lord

The Lord: God, whose name is YHWH; also Jesus.

Where else “Kyrion” appears
your Godθεόνtheon

God

The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.

Where else “theon” appears
aloneμόνῳmonōi

alone

With no one else.

Where else “monōi” appears
you shall serve.’λατρεύσειςlatreuseis

worship, serve

Serve, worship: serve God in worship.

Where else “latreuseis” appears

Translation note

“Satan” means “adversary.” Deuteronomy 6:13 following the ancient Greek translation; the Hebrew says “YHWH your Elohim you shall fear, and him you shall serve.”

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The temptations of Jesus

Mark 1:12-13Luke 4:1-13

See them side by side

Matthew 4:1-11

1Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tested by the devil. 2And after fasting forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. 3And the one testing him came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘A person will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out through the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil takes him into the holy city and stood him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and says to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’” 8Again the devil takes him to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9and he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and bow down before me.” 10Then Jesus says to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and him alone you shall serve.’” 11Then the devil leaves him, and look, angels came and were serving him.

Mark 1:12-13

12And at once the Spirit drives him out into the wilderness. 13And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tested by Satan; and he was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.

Luke 4:1-13

1And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and he was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he did not eat anything in those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry. 3And the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written: A human being will not live on bread alone.” 5And leading him up, he showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been handed over to me, and to whomever I wish I give it. 7So if you bow down before me, it will be all yours.” 8And answering, Jesus said to him, “It is written: Before the Lord your God you will bow down, and him alone you will serve.” 9And he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, 11and: On their hands they will carry you, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” 12And answering, Jesus said to him, “It is said: You will not put the Lord your God to the test.” 13And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Quotation · Deuteronomy 6:13

Where Deuteronomy says “you shall fear,” Matthew says “you shall bow down,” and adds “alone.”

See them side by side

Matthew 4:10

10Then Jesus says to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and him alone you shall serve.’”

Deuteronomy 6:13

13YHWH your Elohim you shall fear, and him you shall serve, and by his name you shall swear.

The context

9and he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and bow down before me.”

10 · This verse (above)

11Then the devil leaves him, and look, angels came and were serving him.

Read all of Matthew 4

To study Matthew 4 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    How did Jesus answer each time the tester spoke to him (vv. 4, 7, 10)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why does Matthew tell of the testing right before Jesus begins to proclaim the kingdom (vv. 1, 17)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus called fishermen to follow him (v. 19). What everyday work could you do with more attention to God?

How to use it