Matthew 4:6

“and 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.’””

Matthew 4:6 · direct translation from the Greek
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The devil quotes Scripture too; Jesus will not put God to the testTemptation

With the Greek beneath

6

Quotation · Psalms 91:11-12

Go to Psalms 91:11-12

The devil quotes the psalm without the words “to guard you in all your ways.”

Formula: γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι “for it is written” (Matthew 4:6)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ βάλε σεαυτὸν κάτω γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה לָּךְ לִשְׁמָרְךָ בְּכָל דְּרָכֶיךָ עַל כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ פֶּן תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ

Septuagint (Psalms 90:11-12 in the Septuagint numbering): ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου· ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε. μή ποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 7 consecutive words: “ὅτι Τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ.”

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

Matthew 4:6, word by word

saysλέγειlegei

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “legei” appears
you areεἶei

be

To be: says who or what something is.

Where else “ei” appears
the Sonυἱὸςhuios

Son

Jesus, the Son of God.

Where else “huios” appears
of Godθεοῦtheou

God

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

Where else “theou” appears
throwβάλεbale

throw

To hurl something or someone away from oneself.

Where else “bale” appears
yourselfσεαυτὸνseauton

yourself

Yourself.

Where else “seauton” appears
downκάτωkatō

below

Below, down; "from below".

Where else “katō” appears
it is writtenγέγραπταιgegraptai

it is written

So the Bible says; a passage is quoted.

Where else “gegraptai” appears
‘He will commandἐντελεῖταιenteleitai

command

Command, give orders.

Where else “enteleitai” appears
his angelsἀγγέλοιςangelois

angel

A messenger from heaven who serves God.

Where else “angelois” appears
handsχειρῶνcheirōn

hand

The part of the body at the end of the arm, used to hold and touch.

Where else “cheirōn” appears
they will liftἀροῦσίνarousin

pick up

To lift something from the ground or take it in one's hands.

Where else “arousin” appears
so that you do notμήποτεmēpote

lest

Expresses fear that something bad may happen, so as to avoid it.

Where else “mēpote” appears
strikeπροσκόψῃςproskopsēis

strike

To hit against something, like a foot on a stone or wind on a house.

Where else “proskopsēis” appears
your footπόδαpoda

foot

Foot.

Where else “poda” appears
a stone.’λίθονlithon

stone

A piece of hard rock, loose or cut.

Where else “lithon” appears

Translation note

The devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12, leaving out “in all your ways.”

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 · Psalms 91:11-12

The devil quotes the psalm without the words “to guard you in all your ways.”

See them side by side

Matthew 4:6

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.’”

Psalms 91:11-12

11For his angels he will command concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

The context

5Then the devil takes him into the holy city and stood him on the pinnacle of the temple,

6 · This verse (above)

7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”

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