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Matthew 4 · a question people ask

"I will give you all of these things" (4:9). Were the kingdoms of the world the devil's to give?

In the text

Matthew doesn't say. He tells that the devil "showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" (4:8) and said, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me" (4:9). Jesus's answer doesn't argue the claim. He answers with what is written: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only" (4:10). Luke gives the devil more words: "I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I want" (Luke 4:6). Those are the devil's words in Luke, and neither Gospel says whether they were true. These notes don't say either.

The verses

“Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’””
Matthew 4:8-10 · World English Bible
“The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I want. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’””
Luke 4:5-8 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Matthew 4

Matthew 4: It is written

In Matthew 4 the devil says "it is written" too (4:6), and Jesus answers each temptation with what "is written" (4:4, 4:7, 4:10). And Matthew writes "From that time, Jesus began" twice: when Jesus begins to preach (4:17), and when he begins to show his disciples that he must suffer, be killed and be raised (16:21).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions