4:8a
But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is a conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. Other versions, such as the New International Version, Good News Translation, and NET Bible, do not translate this conjunction here. Connect 4:8a to 4:7b in a way that is natural in your language.
Jesus answered: As in 4:4a, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as answered here means “replied” or “responded.” Jesus was not answering a question. He was responding to the devil as the devil tried to tempt him to sin.
Jesus’ response implied that he was refusing to do what Satan had wanted. You may need to make this clear in your translation. For example:
Jesus ⌊refused. He⌋ said
It is written: As in 4:4a, Jesus used the phrase It is written to introduce words from the Old Testament Scriptures. Some other ways to translate this are:
Scripture says (Revised English Bible)
-or-
It is written in the Scriptures (New Century Version)
4:8b
Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only: The clause Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13. These words were a command to each of the people of Israel. In Greek, the verbs Worship and serve and the pronoun your are singular. However, since the command is given to everyone, in some languages it may be more natural to use the plural forms:
You(plur) must worship the Lord, who is your(plur) God, and obey only him.
Jesus quoted this command in order to tell Satan that he would never worship Satan. Jesus was declaring that he himself would obey the Scriptures and worship only the true God. See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
Worship…serve: The two Greek verbs that most English versions translate here as Worship and serve have similar meanings. To Worship God means to bow before him and revere/respect him. (See the note on “worship me” in 4:7a). To serve God refers here to doing acts of worship to honor him.
These two verbs work together to describe how people should act toward God. Some ways to translate these verbs are:
You shall do homage to the Lord your God and worship him alone. (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Revere/Respect the Lord your God and worship only him.
-or-
You must esteem God…honoring him alone in all you do.
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