Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
• New International Version (NIV)Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Context of Matthew 4:4

2Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of this time, he was very hungry. 3Then 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.’ But 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. 6He said to Jesus, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here to the ground. You know that the Bible says: “God will tell his angels to keep you safe. They will hold you safely in their hands. They will not let you hurt your foot on a stone”.’

Matthew 4:4 word by word

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· γέγραπται· οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• he answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
• and saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• It is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• Manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• shallζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• notοὐou · noG3756
• byἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• breadἄρτοςartos · breadG740
• aloneμόνοςmonos · aloneG3441
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
• wordῥῆμαrhēma · declarationG4487
• that proceedethἐκπορεύωekporeuomai · to departG1607
• outδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• of the mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for Matthew 4:4

• Matthew 4:7Jesus replied, ‘No! The Bible also says, “Do not test the Lord God, to see if he will save you”.’
• Luke 4:4‘No!’ Jesus replied, ‘The Bible says that food alone cannot cause people to live.’
• Romans 15:4Everything that people wrote in the Bible in past times is there to teach us something. Those words help us to be patient and strong. As a result, we can trust God to do what he has promised.
• Ephesians 6:17Remember that God has saved you from your sins. That will be like a strong hat that keeps your head safe. Also, use God's message to help you. That will be like a sword that God's Spirit puts in your hand.
• Deuteronomy 8:3He caused you to become hungry and then he fed you with manna. Neither you nor your ancestors had ever seen this food before. In this way, he taught you that food alone cannot cause people to live. They need to hear every word that the Lord speaks. That is what gives them true life.
• Matthew 14:16Jesus said to them, ‘The people do not need to go away. You should give them some food to eat.’
• Exodus 16:8Moses said to them, ‘The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening. And in the morning, he will give you all the bread that you want. He will do this because he has heard you when you complained against him. We are only his servants. You have said bad things against the Lord, not against us.’
• Exodus 23:15Eat the Feast of Flat Bread every year. For seven days, you must eat bread that you have made without any yeast. I have commanded you to do this. Do it at the right time during the month Abib. It was in that month that you came out of Egypt. Nobody must come to me without an offering.
• 1 Kings 17:12She replied, ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives, I do not have any bread. I have only a small amount of flour in a bowl and some olive oil in a small jar. I am now picking up a few sticks to take home. Then I will cook a meal for myself and for my son. We will eat it. Then we will die because there is nothing else to eat.’
• 2 Kings 4:42One day, a man came from Baal Shalishah. He brought 20 bread loaves for the man of God. The flour for the bread was made from the first barley that he had picked at harvest time. He also brought some fresh grain. Elisha said, ‘Give this food to the people to eat.’
• 2 Kings 7:1Elisha said, ‘Now listen to the Lord's message! This is what the Lord says: “About this time tomorrow, five kilograms of good flour will cost only one piece of silver. Ten kilograms of barley will also cost one piece of silver. You will be able to buy this food at the gate of Samaria.” ’
• Haggai 2:16In those days, you hoped to get 20 bags of grain from your fields. But you only got ten bags. You hoped to get 50 jars of wine from your grapes. But you only got 20 jars.
• Malachi 3:9Yes, all of you are robbing me. The whole nation of Israel is guilty. So you will receive the punishment of a curse.
• Mark 6:38Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.’ When they had looked, they told Jesus, ‘We have five loaves and two fish.’
• Mark 8:4The disciples replied, ‘This place is far from any houses. We cannot get enough bread to feed all these people.’
• John 6:5Jesus looked up. He saw a large crowd of people who were coming towards him. He said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough bread to feed all these people?’

Commentaries on Matthew 4:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4But by (or, upon, ) every word - , in Greek, answers to דבר dabar in Hebrew, which means not only a word spoken, but also thing, purpose, appointment, etc. Our Lord's meaning seems to be this: God purposes the welfare of his creatures - all his appointments are calculated to promote this end. Some of them may appear to man to have a contrary tendency; but even fasting itself, when used in consequence of a Divine injunction, becomes a mean of supporting…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4But he answered and said … - In reply to this artful temptation Christ answered by a quotation from the Old Testament. The passage is found in Deuteronomy 8:3. In that place the discourse is respecting manna. Moses says that the Lord humbled the people, and fed them with manna, an unusual kind of food, that they might learn that man did not live by bread only, but that there were other things to support life, and that everything which God had commanded…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. 44. But he answered and said, It is written--(De 8:3). Man shall not live by bread alone--more emphatically, as in the Greek, "Not by bread alone shall man live." but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God--Of all passages in Old Testament Scripture, none could have been pitched upon more apposite, perhaps not one so apposite, to our Lord's purpose. "The Lord ... led thee (said Moses to Israel, at the close of their journeyings) these forty…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 4:4

• Hunger
• Jesus Continued
• Man
• Quotations and Allusions
• Satan
• Temptation
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

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

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