Luke 4
English Standard Version Anglicised
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)And Jesus, (B)full of the Holy Spirit, (C)returned from the Jordan and was led (D)by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for (E)forty days, (F)being tempted by the devil. (G)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were over, (H)he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are (I)the Son of God, command (J)this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, (K)“It is written, (L)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 (M)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you (N)I will give all this authority and their glory, (O)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, (P)“It is written,
9 (S)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are (T)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
(U)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you’,
11 and
(V)“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, (W)‘You shall not (X)put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him (Y)until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 (Z)And Jesus returned (AA)in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and (AB)a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And (AC)he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 (AD)And he came to (AE)Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And (AF)as was his custom, (AG)he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up (AH)to read. 17 And (AI)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 (AJ)“The Spirit of the Lord (AK)is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to (AL)proclaim good news to the poor.
(AM)He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and (AN)recovering of sight to the blind,
(AO)to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 (AP)to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and (AQ)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were (AR)fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today (AS)this Scripture (AT)has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marvelled at (AU)the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, (AV)“Is not this (AW)Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, (AX)‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did (AY)at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, (AZ)no prophet is acceptable in his home town. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when (BA)the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them (BB)but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And (BC)there were many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, (BD)but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and (BE)drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But (BF)passing through their midst, he went away.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
31 (BG)And he (BH)went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And (BI)he was teaching them (BJ)on the Sabbath, 32 and (BK)they were astonished at his teaching, (BL)for his word possessed authority. 33 And (BM)in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha![b] (BN)What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? (BO)I know who you are—(BP)the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus (BQ)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And (BR)they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? (BS)For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And (BT)reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals Many
38 (BU)And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now (BV)Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and (BW)rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and (BX)he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 (BY)And demons also came out of many, (BZ)crying, “You are (CA)the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and (CB)would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was (CC)the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42 (CD)And when it was day, he departed and went (CE)into a desolate place. And (CF)the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, (CG)“I must (CH)preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching (CI)in the synagogues of Judea.[c]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 4:27 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Luke 4:34 Or Leave us alone
- Luke 4:44 Some manuscripts Galilee
Luke 4
New Living Translation
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,[a] 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’[c]”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[d]”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[e]”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.[f]”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Casts Out a Demon
31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[g] spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
Jesus Heals Many People
38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Jesus Continues to Preach
42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.[h]
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Luke 4
The Message
Tested by the Devil
4 1-2 Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.
3 The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: “Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.”
4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to really live.”
5-7 For the second test he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, “They’re yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I’m in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they’re yours, the whole works.”
8 Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
9-11 For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?”
12 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.’”
13 That completed the testing. The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.
To Set the Burdened Free
14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure.
16-21 He came to Nazareth where he had been raised. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.”
22 All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since he was just a kid?”
23-27 He answered, “I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, ‘Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum.’ Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during that three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.”
28-30 That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw him out, banishing him from the village, then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw him to his doom, but he gave them the slip and was on his way.
31-32 He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to.
33-34 In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, “Stop! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to. You’re the Holy One of God and you’ve come to destroy us!”
35 Jesus shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn’t hurt him.
36-37 That knocked the wind out of everyone and got them whispering and wondering, “What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?” Jesus was the talk of the town.
He Healed Them All
38-39 He left the meeting place and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was running a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. He stood over her, told the fever to leave—and it left. Before they knew it, she was up getting dinner for them.
40-41 When the sun went down, everyone who had anyone sick with some ailment or other brought them to him. One by one he placed his hands on them and healed them. Demons left in droves, screaming, “Son of God! You’re the Son of God!” But he shut them up, refusing to let them speak because they knew too much, knew him to be the Messiah.
42-44 He left the next day for open country. But the crowds went looking and, when they found him, clung to him so he couldn’t go on. He told them, “Don’t you realize that there are yet other villages where I have to tell the Message of God’s kingdom, that this is the work God sent me to do?” Meanwhile he continued preaching in the meeting places of Galilee.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson