Luke 4:8

8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' "

Luke 4:8 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 4:8

Jesus answered and said unto him
The following words, with indignation at him, and detestation of his proposals:

get thee behind me, Satan;
which are omitted in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and in three ancient copies of Beza's, and in his most ancient one; but stand in other copies, and in the Arabic version.

For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.
This passage stands in ( Deuteronomy 6:13 ) where the words are, "thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and thou shalt swear by his name": the last clause is not cited by Christ at all, swearing being only a species, or part of religious worship; and the other two clauses are somewhat different from the original text, as here cited, and may be accounted for: instead of "fear the Lord", it is "worship the Lord"; and the one well explains the other; the fear of God being often, in Scripture, put for the whole worship of God, both internal and external: and in the next clause, the word "only" is added by Christ, as expressing the true sense of it, and agreeably to other places of Scripture, particularly ( 1 Samuel 7:3 ) , (See Gill on Matthew 4:10).

Luke 4:8 In-Context

6 And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
8 Jesus answered him, "It is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' "
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.