And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus answered him, “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
- BSB But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
- NKJV And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
- NASB Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ ”
- NLT Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
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
Jesus refuses, citing Scripture that worship and service belong to God alone. He will worship no one but the Father.
Overview
Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, Jesus rejects the devil's offer outright, affirming that God alone is to be worshiped and served. He will not exchange the Father's will for the devil's prize. His steadfast loyalty to God secures the obedience by which He saves His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 6:13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
- Deut 10:20Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
- Matt 4:10Then 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.
- Ps 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
- Rev 19:10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
- Rev 22:9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
- Jas 4:7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
- 1 Sam 7:3And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
- Luke 4:4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
- 1 Pet 5:9Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
- Isa 2:11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Matt 16:23But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
- 2 Kgs 19:15And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:8 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.