And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
- BSB “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
- NKJV And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
- NASB and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
- NLT “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
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 promises everything if Jesus will fall down and worship him. It lays bare Satan's true aim: to be worshiped in God's place.
Overview
The offer exposes the heart of all temptation, a demand for worship that belongs to God alone. Satan asks the Son of God to commit idolatry as the price of glory. Jesus' steadfast refusal upholds the first commandment and secures the obedience by which He redeems a people who had given that worship away.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- 2 Cor 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
- 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 22:8–9And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
- John 16:11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
- Dan 5:18–19O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
- Ps 72:11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
- 1 Cor 10:20–21But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
- Jer 27:5–6I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
- 1 Tim 3:6Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
- Dan 5:26–28This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
- Ps 113:7–8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
- Prov 8:15By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
- Dan 4:32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
- John 12:31Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
- John 13:3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
- 1 Sam 2:7–8The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
- Rev 19:16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
- John 14:30Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
- Dan 2:37–38Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
- Matt 26:15And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 4:9 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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