Luke 4:8

8 Jesus answered, "The scripture says, "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!' " 1

Luke 4:8 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 4:8

Jesus answered and said unto him
The following words, with indignation at him, and detestation of his proposals:

get thee behind me, Satan;
which are omitted in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and in three ancient copies of Beza's, and in his most ancient one; but stand in other copies, and in the Arabic version.

For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.
This passage stands in ( Deuteronomy 6:13 ) where the words are, "thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and thou shalt swear by his name": the last clause is not cited by Christ at all, swearing being only a species, or part of religious worship; and the other two clauses are somewhat different from the original text, as here cited, and may be accounted for: instead of "fear the Lord", it is "worship the Lord"; and the one well explains the other; the fear of God being often, in Scripture, put for the whole worship of God, both internal and external: and in the next clause, the word "only" is added by Christ, as expressing the true sense of it, and agreeably to other places of Scripture, particularly ( 1 Samuel 7:3 ) , (See Gill on Matthew 4:10).

Luke 4:8 In-Context

6 "I will give you all this power and all this wealth," the Devil told him. "It has all been handed over to me, and I can give it to anyone I choose.
7 All this will be yours, then, if you worship me."
8 Jesus answered, "The scripture says, "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!' "
9 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here.
10 For the scripture says, "God will order his angels to take good care of you.'

Cross References 1

  • 1. 4.8Deuteronomy 6.13.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.