Matthew 4:3-6

4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” ¹  4:4 But he answered, ²  “It is written, ‘Man ³  does not live ⁴  by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵  4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, ⁶  had him stand ⁷  on the highest point ⁸  of the temple, 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ⁹  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ¹⁰ 

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¹ tn Grk “say that these stones should become bread.”

² tn Grk “answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been changed for clarity.

³ tn Or “a person.” Greek ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

⁴ tn Grk “will not live.” The verb in Greek is a future tense, but it is unclear whether it is meant to be taken as a command (also known as an imperatival future) or as a statement of reality (predictive future).

⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 8:3.

⁶ sn The order of the second and third temptations differs in Luke’s account (4:5-12) from the order given in Matthew.

⁷ tn Grk “and he stood him.”

⁸ sn The highest point of the temple probably refers to the point on the temple’s southeast corner where it looms directly over a cliff some 450 ft (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.

⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 91:11. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.