Luke 4:3-12

4:3 The devil said to him, “If¹ you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”² 4:4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man³ does not live by bread alone.’”⁴

4:5 Then⁵ the devil⁶ led him up⁷ to a high place⁸ and showed him in a flash all the kingdoms of the world. 4:6 And he⁹ said to him, “To you¹⁰ I will grant this whole realm¹¹ – and the glory that goes along with it,¹² for it has been relinquished¹³ to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 4:7 So then, if¹⁴ you will worship¹⁵ me, all this will be¹⁶ yours.” 4:8 Jesus¹⁷ answered him,¹⁸ “It is written, ‘You are to worship¹⁹ the Lord²⁰ your God and serve only him.’”²¹

4:9 Then²² the devil²³ brought him to Jerusalem,²⁴ had him stand²⁵ on the highest point of the temple,²⁶ and said to him, “If²⁷ 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,’²⁸ 4:11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”²⁹ 4:12 Jesus³⁰ answered him,³¹ “It is said, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”³²

¹tn This is a first class condition: “If (and let’s assume that you are) the Son of God…”

²tn Grk “say to this stone that it should become bread.”

³tn 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.

⁴tc 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.

⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶tn Grk “he.”

⁷tc 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.

⁸tn “A high place” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied for clarity.

⁹tn Grk “And the devil.”

¹⁰sn In Greek, this phrase is in an emphatic position. In effect, the devil is tempting Jesus by saying, “Look what you can have!”

¹¹tn 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.

¹²tn 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.

¹³tn 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.

¹⁴tn This is a third class condition: “If you worship me (and I am not saying whether you will or will not)…”

¹⁵tn 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.

¹⁶tn 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.

¹⁷tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁸tc 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.

¹⁹tn 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.

²⁰tc 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.

²¹sn 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.

²²tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²³tn Grk “he”; the referent (the devil) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁴map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁵tn Grk “and stood him.”

²⁶sn 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.

²⁷tn This is another first class condition, as in v. 3.

²⁸sn 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).

²⁹sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

³⁰tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³¹tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered him.”

³²sn 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.