“I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
Parallel translations
- WEB The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
- KJV And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
- BSB “I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.
- NKJV And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
- NASB And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The devil claims the world's authority is his to give and offers it to Jesus. His claim mixes a half-truth with a lie.
Overview
Satan, called elsewhere the 'ruler of this world,' claims to dispense its kingdoms—a boast with partial truth, since his power is real but usurped and limited under God. He offers Jesus what is in fact already the Son's by right and destiny. The deceiver tempts Jesus to receive his kingdom from the wrong hand and on the wrong terms.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 12:31Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- Eph 2:2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- John 14:30I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
- Rev 13:7It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.
- Rev 13:2The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
- Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,
- 1 Pet 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
- Rev 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
- 2 Cor 11:14And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- Esth 5:11Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
- Isa 5:14Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
- Isa 23:9Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 4:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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