Matthew 4:3

Matthew 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
• New International Version (NIV)The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Context of Matthew 4:3

1Then Jesus was led by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2After He had gone without food for forty days and forty nights, He became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ” 5Then the devil took Him into the holy city [Jerusalem] and placed Him on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple.

Matthew 4:3 word by word

καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ πειράζων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• when the tempterπειράζωpeirazō · to test/tempt: temptG3985
• cameπροσέρχομαιproserchomai · to come near/agreeG4334
• to himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Ifεἰei · ifG1487
• thou beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• be madeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• breadἄρτοςartos · breadG740

Cross-references for Matthew 4:3

• Job 1:9Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
• Job 2:4Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life.
• Luke 22:31“Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain;
• 1 Thessalonians 3:5For this reason, when I could no longer endure the suspense, I sent someone to find out about your faith [how you were holding up under pressure], for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our work [among you] would prove to be ineffective.
• Revelation 2:10Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested [in your faith], and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death [if you must die for your faith], and I will give you the crown [consisting] of life.
• Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
• Matthew 3:17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased and delighted!”
• Luke 4:3Then the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread.”
• Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
• Genesis 25:29Jacob had cooked [reddish-brown lentil] stew [one day], when Esau came from the field and was famished;
• Exodus 16:3and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”
• Numbers 11:4The rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
• Psalms 78:17Yet they still continued to sin against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
• Hebrews 12:16and [see to it] that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

Commentaries on Matthew 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And when the tempter - This onset of Satan was made (speaking after the manner of men) judiciously: he came when Jesus, after having fasted forty days and forty nights, was hungry: now, as hunger naturally diminishes the strength of the body, the mind gets enfeebled, and becomes easily irritated; and if much watching and prayer be not employed, the uneasiness which is occasioned by a lack of food may soon produce impatience, and in this state of mind the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The tempter - The devil, or Satan. See Matthew 4:1. If thou be the Son of God - If thou art God‘s own Son, then thou hast power to work a miracle, and here is a suitable opportunity to try thy power, and show that thou art sent from God. Command that these stones … - The stones that were lying around him in the wilderness. No temptation could have been more plausible, or more likely to succeed, than this. He had just been declared to be the Son of God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Jesus refused to use his supernatural power to get food, trusting God to provide it. The people of Israel relentlessly tested God with complaints and disbelief (see Exodus 16). But, Jesus refused to doubt God's faithfulness. Instead, he relied on God to meet his real need. This was the spiritual provision that comes from every word of God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. And when the tempter came to him--Evidently we have here a new scene. he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread--rather, "loaves," answering to "stones" in the plural; whereas Luke, having said, "Command this stone," in the singular, adds, "that it be made bread," in the singular (Lu 4:3). The sensation of hunger, unfelt during all the forty days, seems now to have come on in all its keenness--no doubt to open a door…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 4:3

• Hunger
• Jesus Continued
• Miracles
• Satan
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Son of God
• Dash
• Fame
• Humiliation of Christ
• Light
• Satan
• Temptation
• Tempter

Commentaries on Matthew 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings