Bible Strands
Matthew 4:5
Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem and places Him on the temple's highest point immediately after Jesus refuses to turn stones into bread.
The words — παραλαμβάνει (paralambanei) means "takes" or "leads," and ἁγίαν (hagian) translates literally as "holy," modifying the city and temple location.
The thread — The devil's movement to the holy city appears in Luke 4:9 as a parallel temptation account, while Matthew 27:53 and Revelation 11:2 use the phrase to describe Jerusalem in resurrection and prophetic contexts.
Why it lands — The text positions Jesus at a height that demands a visible sign of protection, requiring the reader to recognize that divine authority operates through obedience rather than spectacle.
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 the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Cross-references
- 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.
- Matthew 27:53 After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
- Revelation 11:2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
- Isaiah 48:2 who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Nehemiah 11:1 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.
- Nehemiah 11:18 The Levites in the holy city totaled 284.
- Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- Daniel 9:16 O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us.
- Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
- John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”