Translation Notes for MATTHEW 4.1-11 1 Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνήχθη εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος πειρασθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be put to the test by the devil. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. πειράζω: Look up this word in a lexicon to get the range of potential meanings: διάβολος: Look up this word in a lexicon to get its background meaning. Note how this character is identified in verse 3. 2 καὶ νηστεύσας ἡμέρας τεσσεράκοντα καὶ νύκτας τεσσεράκοντα, ὕστερον ἐπείνασεν. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was hungry, After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, What is significant about the forty? (Αnd recall where Jesus is according to v.1)
3 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ πειράζων εἶπεν αὐτῷ εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. The tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. The tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. And the tempter coming said to him: If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. and the tester came and said to him, If you are Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. During that time the devil came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. 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. εἰ υἱὸς εἶ : What kind of conditional statement is this? What is its implication? Compare the tempter s statement with what is said in Matthew 26.63 and 27.40. 4 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν γέγραπται οὐκ ἐπ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ. But He answered and said, It is written, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD. But he answered, It is written, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. But he answered, It is written, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Who answered and said: It is written, Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. But he replied, Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus answered, It is written: People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. But Jesus told him, No! The Scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God s mouth. ζήσεται: What tense? Note what the Bible footnote indicates about its force. What is the force of ὁ ἄνθρωπος here? How can you best translate it?
5 Τότε παραλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν καὶ ἔστησεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, The devil then took him to the holy city and set him on the parapet of the Temple. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, Note the tense of παραλαμβάνει. ἔστησεν: As a 1st Aorist, it carries a transitive sense. 6 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, βάλε σεαυτὸν κάτω γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε, μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου. 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, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. 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 with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. saying 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, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And said to him: If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written: That he hath given his angels charge over thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. If you are Son of God, he said, throw yourself down; for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, and they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. and said, If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won t even hurt your foot on a stone. 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. Here is the exact quote of Psalm 91 (LXX90):11-12. What is different? 12 ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου
7 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν γέγραπται οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST. Jesus said to him, Once again it is written: You are not to put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Jesus said to him: It is written again: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Jesus said to him, Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus answered him, It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Jesus responded, The Scriptures also say, You must not test the Lord your God. Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: Don t you dare test the Lord your God. ἐκπειράσεις: Note tense and mood. Also note the root of the word: ἐκ πειράζω 8 Πάλιν παραλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν καὶ δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. 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. What do you think is meant by the δόξαν of the dominions of the world?
9 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω, ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς μοι. and he said to Him, All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me. And he said to him, I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me. and he said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. And said to him: All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me. And he said to him, I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and do me homage. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me. Then he said, They re yours--lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they re yours. Note the construction with ἐὰν. What kind of conditional clause is this? Check the Bible note on πεσὼν. 10 τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ γέγραπται γάρ κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις. Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY. Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written: You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! for it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Then 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. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan: for it is written, The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve. Then Jesus replied, Away with you, Satan! For scripture says: The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Get out of here, Satan, Jesus told him. For the Scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. 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. A text critical issue here! Cf. the note in the Bible and the additional explanation in Appendix VI. Where else does ὕπαγε and σατανᾶ occur in Matthew? Here is the LXX of Deuteronomy 6.13: κύριον τὸν θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ καὶ αὐτῷ λατρεύσεις What two differences do you observe between this text and its citation in Matthew 4.10?
11 Τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελοι προσῆλθον καὶ διηκόνουν αὐτῷ. Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs. Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him. Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels appeared and looked after him. Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus needs. ἀφίησιν Check the meanings for this word. Note that none of the translations here get it quite right. Compare this to verses 5 and 8 where the devil is the one moves Jesus around. What do the angels do to Jesus? What is the Greek verb?