Discovery BoxMatthew 4:3-6 
Context4:3 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
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).
