Bible Strands
Matthew 4:10
“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus told him. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to the devil at the conclusion of the wilderness temptation sequence, directly after the adversary offers all the kingdoms in exchange for worship. The exchange occurs during the final test in Matthew 4:9–11.
The words — The Greek imperative ὕπαγε (hupage) carries the literal sense “do go away,” directing the adversary to depart. The pronoun αὐτῷ (autō) identifies the recipient of Jesus’ command as the devil.
The thread — Jesus grounds his command in Deuteronomy 6:13 and Deuteronomy 10:20, where Moses commands Israel to fear and serve the Lord alone. Joshua 24:14 similarly records the call to cast aside foreign gods and serve Yahweh in sincerity.
Why it lands — The verse demands exclusive allegiance to God, rejecting any bargain that substitutes worship of created powers for the Creator. A reader must choose between immediate gain and undivided devotion to divine authority.
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
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
- Deuteronomy 10:20 You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
- Joshua 24:14 Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Luke 4:8 But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
- 1 Samuel 7:3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
- James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
- Matthew 16:23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
- 1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.
- Zechariah 3:1 Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Job 2:1 On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.