Matthew 4 · Verse 9

Matthew 4:9

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Matthew 4:9, King James Version

Matthew 4:9 in other translations

BSB	“All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.”
WEB	He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
ASV	and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
YLT	and saith to him, ‘All these to thee I will give, if falling down thou mayest bow to me.'
DARBY	and says to him, All these things will I give thee if, falling down, thou wilt do me homage.
BBE	And he said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will go down on your face and give me worship.
Webster	And saith to him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

What does Matthew 4:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee--"and the glory of them," adds Luke (Lu 4:6). But Matthew having already said that this was "showed Him," did not need to repeat it here. Luke (Lu 4:6) adds these other very important clauses, here omitted--"for that is," or "has been," "delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it." Was this wholly false? That were not like Satan's unusual policy, which is to insinuate his lies under cover of some truth. What truth, then, is there here? We answer, Is not Satan thrice called by our Lord Himself, "the prince of this world" (Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)? Does not the apostle call him "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4)? And still further, is it not said that Christ came to destroy by His death "him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil" (He 2:14)? No doubt these passages only express men's voluntary subjection to the rule of the wicked one while they live, and his power to surround death to them, when it comes, with all the terrors of the wages of sin. But as this is a real and terrible sway, so all Scripture represents men as righteously sold under it. In this sense he speaks what is not devoid of truth, when he says, "All this is delivered unto me." But how does he deliver this "to whomsoever he will?" As employing whomsoever he pleases of his willing subjects in keeping men under his power. In this case his offer to our Lord was that of a deputed supremacy commensurate with his own, though as his gift and for his ends. if thou wilt fall down and worship me--This was the sole but monstrous condition. No Scripture, it will be observed, is quoted now, because none could be found to support so blasphemous a claim. In fact, he has ceased now to present his temptations under the mask of piety, and he stands out unblushingly as the rival of God Himself in his claims on the homage of men. Despairing of success as an angel of light, he throws off all disguise, and with a splendid bribe solicits divine honor. This again shows that we are now at the last of the temptations, and that Matthew's order is the true one.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 9. All these things, etc. All these kingdoms. All these dominions Satan claimed a right to bestow on whom he pleased, and with considerable justice. They were excessively wicked; and with no small degree of plausibility, therefore, he asserted his claim to give them away. This temptation had much plausibility. Satan regarded Jesus as the King of the Jews. As the Messiah, he supposed he had come to take possession of all that country. He was poor, and unarmed, and without followers or armies. Satan proposed to put him in possession of it at once, without any difficulty, if he would acknowledge him as the proper lord and disposer of that country; if he would trust to him, rather than to God.

Worship me. Mt 2:2. The word here seems to mean, to acknowledge Satan as having a right to give these kingdoms to him; to acknowledge his dependence on him rather than God; that is, really to render religious homage. We may be surprised at his boldness. But he had been twice foiled. He supposed it was an object dear to the heart of the Messiah and he seemed not to be asking too much, if he gave them to Jesus, that Jesus should be willing to acknowledge the gift, and express gratitude for it. So plausible are Satan's temptations, even when blasphemous; and so artfully does he present his allurements to the mind.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 9 If thou wilt fall down and worship me - As if he had said, "The whole of this land is now under my government; do me homage for it, and I will deliver it into thy hand."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 4:1-11

Concerning Christ's temptation, observe, that directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world, he was tempted; great privileges, and special tokens of Divine favour, will not secure any from being tempted. But if the Holy Spirit witness to our being adopted as children of God, that will answer all the suggestions of the evil spirit. Christ was directed to the combat. If we presume…

Read the full comment on Matthew 4:1-11 →

Matthew 4:9 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiandG2532

εἶπενeipenhe saysG2036

αὐτῷ·autōto Him;G846

ταῦτάtautaThese thingsG3778

σοιsoito YouG4771

πάνταpantaallG3956

δώσω,dōsōwill I give,G1325

ἐὰνeanifG1437

πεσὼνpesōnfalling downG4098

προσκυνήσῃςproskunēsēsYou shall worshipG4352

μοι.¶moime.G3165

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 4:9

2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Revelation 22:8-9
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
John 16:11
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Daniel 5:18-19
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
1 Corinthians 10:20-21
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
Psalms 72:11
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
Daniel 2:37-38
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
1 Samuel 2:7-8
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
John 14:30
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Daniel 5:26-28
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Jeremiah 27:5-6
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

All.
26:15; Joh 13:3
I give.
1Sa 2:7,8; Ps 72:11; 113:7,8; Pr 8:15; Jer 27:5,6; Da 2:37,38; 4:32
Da 5:18,19,26-28; Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Re 19:16
if.
1Co 10:20,21; 2Co 4:4; 1Ti 3:6; Re 19:10; 22:8,9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 4:8
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Matthew 4:9
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Matthew 4:10
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.

Read all of Matthew 4

Matthew 4:9 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y dícele: Todo esto te daré, si postrado me adorares.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et lui dit: Je te donnerai toutes ces choses, si, te prosternant, tu me rends hommage.
German Elberfelder 1871	und spricht zu ihm: Alles dieses will ich dir geben, wenn du niederfallen und mich anbeten willst.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et dixit ei: Hæc omnia tibi dabo, si cadens adoraveris me.