The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus(A) returned from the Jordan,(B) full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over,[a] He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.[b](C)[c]

So he took Him up[d] and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,(D) and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me,[e] all will be Yours.”

And Jesus answered him,[f] “It is written:

Worship the Lord your God,
and serve(E) Him only.[g]

So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,(F)[h] 11 and
they will support you with their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.(G)[i]

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.(H)[j]

13 After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.

Ministry in Galilee

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,(I) and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.(J) 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,(K) being acclaimed[k] by everyone.

Rejection at Nazareth

16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.(L) As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day(M) and stood up to read.(N) 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me[l]
to proclaim freedom[m] to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.[n](O)[o]

20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.(P) And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

22 They were all speaking well of Him[p] and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”(Q)

23 Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb[q] to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum,(R) do here in Your hometown also.’”

24 He also said, “I assure you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown.(S) 25 But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,(T) when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them—but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healed[r] —only Naaman the Syrian.”(U)

28 When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. 29 They got up, drove Him out of town,(V) and brought Him to the edge[s] of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff. 30 But He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.(W)

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

31 Then He went down to Capernaum,(X) a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were astonished at His teaching because His message had authority.(Y) 33 In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,(Z) 34 “Leave us alone![t] What do You have to do with us,[u] Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus rebuked him(AA) and said, “Be quiet and come out of him!”

And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all. 36 Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And news about Him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.

Healings at Capernaum

38 After He left the synagogue, He entered Simon’s house.(AB) Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him about her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them.(AC) 41 Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!”(AD) But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.(AE)

Preaching in Galilee

42 When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place.(AF) But the crowds were searching for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them. 43 But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.[v](AG)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:2 Lit were completed
  2. Luke 4:4 Other mss add but on every word of God
  3. Luke 4:4 Dt 8:3
  4. Luke 4:5 Other mss read So the Devil took Him up on a high mountain
  5. Luke 4:7 Lit will fall down before me
  6. Luke 4:8 Other mss add “Get behind Me, Satan!
  7. Luke 4:8 Dt 6:13
  8. Luke 4:10 Ps 91:11
  9. Luke 4:11 Ps 91:12
  10. Luke 4:12 Dt 6:16
  11. Luke 4:15 Or glorified
  12. Luke 4:18 Other mss add to heal the brokenhearted,
  13. Luke 4:18 Or release, or forgiveness
  14. Luke 4:19 The time of messianic grace
  15. Luke 4:19 Is 61:1-2
  16. Luke 4:22 Or They were testifying against Him
  17. Luke 4:23 Or parable
  18. Luke 4:27 Lit cleansed
  19. Luke 4:29 Lit brow
  20. Luke 4:34 Or Ha!, or Ah!
  21. Luke 4:34 Lit What to us and to You
  22. Luke 4:44 Other mss read Judea

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness(A)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,(B) left the Jordan(C) and was led by the Spirit(D) into the wilderness, where for forty days(E) he was tempted[a] by the devil.(F) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,(G) tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b](H)

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.(I) And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,(J) and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c](K)

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d](L)

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e](M)

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting,(N) he left him(O) until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Jesus returned to Galilee(P) in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.(Q) 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,(R) and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth,(S) where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,(T) as was his custom. He stood up to read,(U) 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,(V)
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news(W) to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f](X)

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.(Y) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled(Z) in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.(AA)

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown(AB) what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”(AC)

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.(AD) 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.(AE) 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.(AF) 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”(AG)

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town,(AH) and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.(AI)

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit(AJ)

31 Then he went down to Capernaum,(AK) a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching,(AL) because his words had authority.(AM)

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us,(AN) Jesus of Nazareth?(AO) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are(AP)—the Holy One of God!”(AQ)

35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.(AR) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazed(AS) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority(AT) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.(AU)

Jesus Heals Many(AV)(AW)

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked(AX) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,(AY) he healed them.(AZ) 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”(BA) But he rebuked(BB) them and would not allow them to speak,(BC) because they knew he was the Messiah.

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God(BD) to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
  2. Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3
  3. Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13
  4. Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11,12
  5. Luke 4:12 Deut. 6:16
  6. Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1,2 (see Septuagint); Isaiah 58:6
  7. Luke 4:27 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.