Matthew 4:10 is the tenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Jesus has rebuffed two earlier temptations by Satan. The devil has thus transported Jesus to the top of a great mountain and offered him control of the world to Jesus if he agrees to worship him. In this verse, Jesus rejects this temptation.
Content
In the Catholic Bible, the text states:
:At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:
:‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship,
:and him alone shall you serve.’”
In the King James Version of the Bible, the text reads:
: 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.
The English Standard Version translates the passage as:
: 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.’”
The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:
:τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ὕπαγε, Σατανᾶ·
:γέγραπται γάρ Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις
:καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις.
For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 4:10
Analysis
In contrast with Matthew 4:1 where "the devil" is named, here Jesus refers to the devil as Satan (cf. Matthew 12:26; 16:23), which is the same as Beelzebul (Matthew 10:25; 12:24, 27). Throughout Matthew, the devil and his evil underlings are always overpowered (cf. Matthew 4:23; 8:16, 28; 9:32; 12:22; 15:22; 17:18; 23:39). Jesus again quotes scripture in response to the temptation, this time the quote is from the passage on the Israelites rejection of idolatry in . The Spirit-led behavior that Jesus demonstrates here is significant: to know God's command and its context means to obey, with no added reasoning to God's simple commands (cf. Psalm 119:11). The verse uses the word "worship" (not the word "fear" as in the Septuagint), to better tie in with the temptation, and adds only at the end for added emphasis.
Commentary from the Church Fathers
Pseudo-Chrysostom: With these words, He puts an end to the temptations of the Devil, that they should proceed no further.