Bible Strands
Luke 4:9
Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The devil addresses Jesus after the second temptation, bringing Him to Jerusalem and placing Him on the temple's highest point. This sequence follows Jesus's refusal to worship Satan in Luke 4:8.
The words — ἔστησεν (estēsen) means "set" or "place," describing the devil's action of positioning Jesus on the temple pinnacle. Ἰερουσαλὴμ (Ierousalēm) identifies the location as Jerusalem, the city housing the temple.
The thread — The demand to throw Himself down anticipates a test of God's protective promises, which Jesus immediately counters by citing Luke 4:10. Matthew 4:5 records this identical encounter, referring to the location as the "holy city."
Why it lands — The text requires a choice between forcing a miraculous sign to prove identity or trusting God's word without demanding proof. It confronts the reader with the practical question of whether to test divine protection or to obey without conditions.
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 he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
Cross-references
- Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
- Matthew 8:29 “What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- Luke 4:3 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
- Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 3:4 The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
- Job 2:6 “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”