Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil,
2 and [after he] had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry.
3 And the tempter approached [and] said to him, "If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread."
4 But he answered [and] said, "It is written, 'Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God."
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the highest point of the temple
6 and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On [their] hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand it is written, 'You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'"
8 Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,
9 and he said to him, "I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down [and] worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.

Public Ministry in Galilee

12 Now [when he] heard that John {had been arrested}, he withdrew into Galilee.
13 And leaving Nazareth, he went [and] lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, {toward the sea}, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death, a light has dawned on them."
17 From that time [on], Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near."

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

18 Now [as he] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen).
19 And he said to them, "{Follow me} and I will make you fishers of people."
20 And immediately they left their nets [and] followed him.
21 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the [son] of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 And immediately they left the boat and their father [and] followed him.

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing throughout Galilee

23 And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
24 And a report about him went out {throughout} Syria, and they brought to him all those {who were sick} with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.
25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.

Footnotes 21

  • [a]. *Here "[after]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("had fasted") which is understood as temporal
  • [b]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("approached") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [c]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [d]. A quotation from Deut 8:3
  • [e]. That is, Jerusalem
  • [f]. A quotation from Deut 6:16
  • [g]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("will fall down") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [h]. A quotation from Deut 6:13
  • [i]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
  • [j]. Literally "had been handed over"
  • [k]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [l]. Literally "the way of the sea"
  • [m]. Or "nations"; the same Greek word can be translated "nations" or "Gentiles" depending on the context
  • [n]. A quotation from Isa 9:1
  • [o]. *Here "[as]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("was walking") which is understood as temporal
  • [p]. Literally "come behind me"
  • [q]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("left") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [r]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("left") has been translated as a finite verb
  • [s]. Literally "in the whole of"
  • [t]. Literally "having badly"
  • [u]. Some manuscripts have "and demon-possessed"

Matthew 4 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.