The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it.
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Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger,
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And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread."
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And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. ”
4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."
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But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. ’”
5 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said,
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Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple
6 "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone."
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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 bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. ’”
7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God."
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Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. ’”
8 For the third test, the Devil took him on the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were.
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Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 Then he said, "They're yours - lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours."
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And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. ”
10 Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
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Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. ’”
11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs. Teaching and Healing
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Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
12 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee.
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Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
13 He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills.
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And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 This move completed Isaiah's sermon:
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so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, road to the sea, over Jordan, Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
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“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up.
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the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. ”
17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."
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From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ”
18 Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work.
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While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass."
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And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. ”
20 They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
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Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee's sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them,
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And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.
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Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
23 From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God's kingdom was his theme - that beginning right now they were under God's government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives.
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And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
24 Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all.
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So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.
25 More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the "Ten Towns" across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.
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And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025