ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Matthew 4.10
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Passage

Matthew 4.10

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

8. Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9. and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

  1. Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12. Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; (Matthew 4:8-12, ASV)
WEB

8. Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 9. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”

10. Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”

  1. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him. 12. Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. (Matthew 4:8-12, WEB)
KJV

8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

  1. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; cast: or, delivered up (Matthew 4:8-12, KJV)
YLT

8. Again doth the Devil take him to a very high mount, and doth shew to him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, 9. and saith to him, 'All these to thee I will give, if falling down thou mayest bow to me.'

10. Then saith Jesus to him, 'Go, Adversary, for it hath been written, The Lord thy God thou shalt bow to, and Him only thou shalt serve.'

  1. Then doth the Devil leave him, and lo, messengers came and were ministering to him. 12. And Jesus having heard that John was delivered up, did withdraw to Galilee, (Matthew 4:8-12, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Jesus
  • Audience: the devil, addressed as "Satan"
  • Location: the wilderness to which the Spirit led Jesus (4:1); the devil had taken him "unto an exceeding high mountain" (4:8)
  • Time period: the start of Jesus' public ministry, after his baptism (3:13-17) and forty days of fasting (4:2), commonly placed c. AD 27-29

Theological reading

"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." This is the third temptation. The devil has offered "all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them" on one condition: "if thou wilt fall down and worship me" (4:8-9).

The answer from Deuteronomy. All three of Jesus' replies quote Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13). This one draws on Deuteronomy 6:13, "Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve" (ASV). Matthew's wording has "worship" (Strong's G4352, proskyneo) where the Hebrew has "fear," and adds "only" (G3441), sharpening the verse into a direct answer to the devil's demand. The words come from the chapter that opens with the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4). Israel was tested forty years in the wilderness "to know what was in thy heart" (Deuteronomy 8:2); Jesus, tested in the wilderness, answers with Israel's own Scripture.

Worship belongs to God alone. The verse is the plainest statement in the Gospels that worship is owed to God and to no one else. Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God uses it as a premise both sides accept. Satan asks for worship and is refused, because he is a creature. See Satan.

The question it raises. Witnesses read the verse as Jesus, a creature, directing worship away from himself to Jehovah. Christians read it as the incarnate Son, living as a man under the Law, keeping the first commandment perfectly. The same Gospel then records Jesus receiving the same verb from his disciples without rebuke: "they that were in the boat worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God" (14:33); the women "took hold of his feet, and worshipped him" (28:9). Witnesses render those occurrences "obeisance." The Christian point is that Matthew uses the same word Jesus has just said is owed to God only, and lets it stand. See Argument from the Universal Worship Convergence.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.