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 the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. 2Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry. Then the Devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to these stones. Tell them to become bread.’ 4But Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that God speaks. That is what gives them true life.’ 5Then the Devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. He made him stand on the highest part 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 1:9Satan answered the Lord, ‘There is a very good reason why Job obeys you.
• Job 2:4Satan answered the Lord, ‘A man will always take care of his own body. He would do anything to save his own life.
• Luke 22:31Jesus then said, ‘Simon, Simon, be careful to listen to me! Satan has asked to have authority over you all. He will shake you as a farmer shakes seeds.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:5That is why I had to send Timothy to come to you. I could not wait to hear news about you any longer. I wanted to know whether you still trusted Christ. I was afraid that Satan had deceived you. If he had made you turn away from Christ, our work among you would have had no results.
• Revelation 2:10I know that trouble will soon come to you. But do not be afraid. Listen! The Devil will cause some of you to go to prison. He wants to see whether you will continue to believe in me. As a result, you will suffer for ten days. But continue to trust me, even if you die. Then you will win against the Devil. I will give you a gift, as they give a crown to the winner of a race. You will have life with me for ever.
• Revelation 12:9Michael and his angels threw the great dragon out of heaven. The dragon is called the Devil or Satan. He is the snake who has been there since long ago. He tells lies to deceive the whole world. They threw him down to the earth, together with all his angels.
• Matthew 3:17Then a voice spoke from heaven, which said, ‘This man is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy.’
• Luke 4:3The Devil said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, speak to this stone. Tell it to become bread.’
• Genesis 3:1The Lord God made many wild animals. But the snake was the most clever of them all. The snake asked the woman, ‘Did God say, “You must not eat the fruit from any tree in the garden”? Is that really true?’
• Genesis 25:29One day, Jacob was cooking a meal. Esau came back from the country. He was very hungry.
• Exodus 16:3The Israelites said to them, ‘It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in Egypt! There, we sat round pots with plenty of meat. We ate all the food that we wanted. But now you have brought us into this desert. We are so hungry that we will soon die!’
• Numbers 11:4Some foreign people were travelling with the Israelites. Those people wanted very much to eat better food. So the Israelites wept again. They said, ‘We want meat to eat!
• Psalms 78:17But his people continued to do bad things against him. In the wilderness, they turned against the Most High God.
• Hebrews 12:16Make sure that nobody among you has sex in a wrong way. Be careful that nobody is careless about God's rules, like Esau was long ago. He gave away everything that he would have received as his father's first son. He gave it all away so that he could get only one 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