Matthew 4:1–4
Hungry in the wilderness, Jesus answers the tempter with Scripture
Study it word by word1Then 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.’”
In its context
…
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.’”
Its words in the original
- ΤότεTote· then
Then, at that time.
- ἸησοῦςIēsous· 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).
- ἀνήχθηanēchthē· bring up, set sail
Lead up, bring up; also offer; in the passive, put out to sea, set sail.
- ἔρημονerēmon· wilderness, desolate
Wilderness: an uninhabited, uncultivated place; also lonely, deserted.
- πνεύματοςpneumatos· spirit, Spirit
Spirit; also wind and breath. With "holy", the Holy Spirit of God.
- πειρασθῆναιpeirasthēnai· test, tempt
Put to the test; when the devil does it, tempt: push someone to fall. "The tempter" comes from the same verb.
- διαβόλουdiabolou· devil
Devil: "the slanderer", the one who accuses and divides; the enemy of God and of people.
- νηστεύσαςnēsteusas· fast
Fast: go without food for a time in order to seek God.
- ἡμέραςhēmeras· day
Day. "In the days of" someone: in their time.
- τεσσεράκονταtesserakonta· forty
Forty.
- νύκταςnyktas· night
Night. "By night".
- ὕστερονhysteron· later, last
Later, last; "afterward", "at last".
- ἐπείνασενepeinasen· be hungry
Be hungry; also long for something.
- προσελθὼνproselthōn· come to, approach
Come up to, approach someone.
- εἶπενeipen· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- υἱὸςhuios· son, Son
Son. Also descendant: "son of David" means one of King David's family, and is a title of the promised Messiah.
- εἶei· be
Be, exist.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- λίθοιlithoi· stone
Stone.
- ἄρτοιartoi· bread
Bread; also food in general.
- γένωνταιgenōntai· become, happen
Become, happen, come about; be born.
- ἀποκριθεὶςapokritheis· answer
Answer, reply; speak up.
- ΓέγραπταιGegraptai· write
Write. "It is written": that is what the Scriptures say.
- μόνῳmonōi· only, alone
Alone, only.
- ζήσεταιzēsetai· live
Live, be alive.
- ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos· human being, man
Human being, person, man (without distinguishing male or female).
- ῥήματιrhēmati· word, saying
Word, something said; also matter, thing.
- ἐκπορευομένῳekporeuomenōi· go out, proceed
Go out; also proceed from someone.
- στόματοςstomatos· mouth
Mouth.