Luke 4:1-13

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then¹ Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River² and was led by the Spirit³ in⁴ the wilderness,⁵ 4:2 where for forty days he endured temptations⁶ from the devil. He⁷ ate nothing⁸ during those days, and when they were completed,⁹ he was famished. 4:3 The devil said to him, “If¹⁰ you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”¹¹ 4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man¹² does not live by bread alone.’”¹³

4:5 Then¹⁴ the devil¹⁵ led him up¹⁶ to a high place¹⁷ and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 4:6 And he¹⁸ said to him, “To you¹⁹ I will grant this whole realm²⁰ – and the glory that goes along with it,²¹ for it has been relinquished²² to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 4:7 So then, if²³ you will worship²⁴ me, all this will be²⁵ yours.” 4:8 Jesus²⁶ answered him,²⁷ “It is written, ‘You are to worship²⁸ the Lord²⁹ your God and serve only him.’”³⁰

4:9 Then³¹ the devil³² brought him to Jerusalem,³³ had him stand³⁴ on the highest point of the temple,³⁵ and said to him, “If³⁶ you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 4:10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’³⁷ 4:11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”³⁸ 4:12 Jesus³⁹ answered him,⁴⁰ “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”⁴¹ 4:13 So⁴² when the devil⁴³ had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a more opportune time.⁴⁴

¹tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

²tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

³sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

⁴tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì^4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

⁵tn Or “desert.”

⁶tn Grk “in the desert, for forty days being tempted.” The participle πειραζόμενος (peirazomeno") has been translated as an adverbial clause in English to avoid a run-on sentence with a second “and.” Here the present participle suggests a period of forty days of testing. Three samples of the end of the testing are given in the following verses.

⁷tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁸sn The reference to Jesus eating nothing could well be an idiom meaning that he ate only what the desert provided; see Exod 34:28. A desert fast simply meant eating only what one could obtain in the desert. The parallel in Matt 4:2 speaks only of Jesus fasting.

⁹tn The Greek word here is συντελεσθείσων (suntelesqeiswn) from the verb συντελέω (suntelew).

¹⁰tn This is a first class condition: “If (and let’s assume that you are) the Son of God…”

¹¹tn Grk “say to this stone that it should become bread.”

¹²tn Or “a person.” The Greek word ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

¹³tc Most mss (A [D] Θ Ψ [0102] Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) complete the citation with ἀλλ᾿ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι θεοῦ (ajll’ ejpi panti rJhmati qeou, “but by every word from God”), an assimilation to Matt 4:4 (which is a quotation of Deut 8:3). The shorter reading is found in א B L W 1241 pc sa. There is no good reason why scribes would omit the rest of the quotation here. The shorter reading, on both internal and external grounds, should be considered the original wording in Luke.

¹⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁵tn Grk “he.”

¹⁶tc Most mss (א¹ A [D W] Θ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,[13] 33 700 2542 Ï it) refer to Jesus being taken up “to a high mountain” (with many of these also explicitly adding “the devil”) here in parallel with Matt 4:8, but both scribal harmonization to that text and the pedigree of the witnesses for the shorter reading (א* B L 1241 pc) is the reason it should be omitted from Luke.

¹⁷tn “A high place” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied for clarity.

¹⁸tn Grk “And the devil.”

¹⁹sn In Greek, this phrase is in an emphatic position. In effect, the devil is tempting Jesus by saying, “Look what you can have!”

²⁰tn Or “authority.” BDAG 353 s.v. ἐξουσία 6 suggests, concerning this passage, that the term means “the sphere in which the power is exercised, domain.” Cf. also Luke 22:53; 23:7; Acts 26:18; Eph 2:2.

²¹tn The addendum referring to the glory of the kingdoms of the world forms something of an afterthought, as the following pronoun (“it”) makes clear, for the singular refers to the realm itself.

²²tn For the translation of παραδέδοται (paradedotai) see L&N 57.77. The devil is erroneously implying that God has given him such authority with the additional capability of sharing the honor.

²³tn This is a third class condition: “If you worship me (and I am not saying whether you will or will not)…”

²⁴tn Or “will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

²⁵tn One could translate this phrase “it will all be yours.” The sense is the same, but the translation given is a touch more emphatic and more likely to catch the force of the offer.

²⁶tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁷tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A Θ Ψ 0102 Ë¹³ Ï it), have “Get behind me, Satan!” at the beginning of the quotation. This roughly parallels Matt 4:10 (though the Lukan mss add ὀπίσω μου to read ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ [{upage opisw mou, satana]); for this reason the words are suspect as a later addition to make the two accounts agree more precisely. A similar situation occurred in v. 5.

²⁸tn Or “You will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

²⁹tc Most later mss (A Θ 0102 Ï) alter the word order by moving the verb forward in the quotation. This alteration removes the emphasis from “the Lord your God” as the one to receive worship (as opposed to Satan) by moving it away from the beginning of the quotation.

³⁰sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.

³¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

³²tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³³map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³⁴tn Grk “and stood him.”

³⁵sn The reference to the highest point of the temple probably refers to the one point on the temple’s southeast corner where the site looms directly over a cliff some 450 feet (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.

³⁶tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.

³⁷sn A quotation from Ps 91:11 by the devil. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

³⁸sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

³⁹tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁴⁰tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered him.”

⁴¹sn A quotation from Deut 6:16 used by Jesus in reply to the devil. The point is that God’s faithfulness should not be put to the test, but is rather a given.

⁴²tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary.

⁴³tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁴tn Grk “until a favorable time.”