Bible Strands
Luke 4:5
Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The devil addresses Jesus during the wilderness temptation sequence, immediately following Jesus' declaration that life depends on God's spoken word. He leads Jesus up an elevated location to display the political realms of the earth.
The words — ἀναγαγὼν (anagōn) means "having led up," and ὄρος (oros) refers to an indefinite mountain rather than a specific named peak. ὑψηλὸν (hupsēlon) literally denotes the location's height.
The thread — The devil's assertion of distributable authority (Luke 4:6) stands in direct tension with the prohibition against loving the world in 1 John 2:15. The instantaneous presentation of the kingdoms mirrors the sudden events of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and the transient nature of the wicked's success in Job 20:5.
Why it lands — The narrative records the devil's offer of worldly dominion without endorsing its legitimacy. It requires a reader to measure temporal power against the written word of God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Cross-references
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
- Job 20:5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Psalms 73:19 How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
- Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
- Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
- Mark 4:8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”
- 1 Corinthians 7:31 and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.