Luke 4:8 Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written,

Spoken to: 

an individual

Jesus's second temptation in the desert.

KJV: 

Luke 4:8 Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

NIV : 

Luke 4:8 It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

it has been written: "A master, that Divine of yours, you should bow down to and for Him only should you serve.

MY TAKE: 

We are made in the image of the Divine and should only humble ourselves before the Divine.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

Γέγραπται                      “Κύριον τὸν   θεόν       σου         προσκυνήσεις 
it has been written:     "A master, that  Divine of yours,   you should bow down to

καὶ   αὐτῷ      μόνῳ  λατρεύσεις.”
and for him   only    should you serve.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

"Worship" is from a Greek word that means "make obeisance", specifically to prostrate yourself before authority, as we would use the Chinese term, "kowtow."

The primary meaning of the Greek word translated as "serve" is "to work for hire," but its secondary meaning is "to be enslaved to." The "to serve" translation is more generic, though it fits well with the general translation of of "slave" into "servant."

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4

[Get thee behind me, Satan: for(OS)] it(WT) is written, Thou shalt worship the(WP) Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve(CW).

  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "Get thee behind me, Satan: for" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect.
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "the" doesn't appear before "lord" but "God."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "serve" is not the verb normally translated as "serve" in the Gospels but a word unique to the verse from the Greek OT.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

4

It(WT) is written (WF) ‘Worship the(WP) Lord your God and serve(CW,WF) him only.

  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "is" indicates the present tense, but the verb is the past perfect.
  • WF -- Wrong Form  -- This verb "worship" is in the form of possibility, a subjunctive, or the future tense.
  • WP -- Wrongly Placed -- The word "the" doesn't appear before "lord" but "God."
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "serve" is not the verb normally translated as "serve" in the Gospels but a word unique to the verse from the Greek OT.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "serve" is not a command.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

Get thee behind me, Satan: for -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "Get thee behind me, Satan: for" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

It -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the following verb.

is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been."

written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark," "to express by written characters," and "to write down [a law]."  The verb is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."

Thou -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

shalt  -- This helping verb "shalt" indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

worship -- "Worship" is from a Greek word that means "make obeisance," specifically to prostrate yourself before authority, as we would use the Chinese term, "kowtow." In the previous verse, this Greek word was used with the verb meaning "falling down." The form is either the future tense or a form of possibility, that is, what "should" happen.

the -- (WP) The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.  This word appears before "God" not "Lord."

Lord -- The word translated as "Lord," is the same as the one used to describe a master of slaves. While most references to slaves in the KJV are translated to "servants," the use of "Lord" and "slaves" is common in Christ's parables because it describes a common employment situation of his time.

thy -- The word translated as "thy" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

God, -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods. See this article for more.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

him -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective. In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

only -- "Only" is an adjective that means "alone," "solitary," "only," "single," "unique," "made in one piece," "without [someone]," "only [something]," "unique," "one above all others," and "on one condition only." This word was not a part of the original verse in the Septuagint.

shalt  -- This helping verb "shalt" indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

thou -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

serve. -- (CW) The primary meaning of the Greek word translated as "serve" is "to work for hire," but its secondary meaning is "to be enslaved to." This is not Jesus's normal word that means "serve."

EACH WORD of NIV : 

it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the following verb.

is -- (WT) This helping verb "is" indicates that the following verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. However, the tense here is the past perfect, so "has been."

written -- "Written" is a verb that means "to mark," "to express by written characters," and "to write down [a law]."  The verb is passive, completed in the past, "it has been written."

missing "should," "might," or 'will" -- (WF) A helping verb is necessary because the following verb is a verb of possibility, a subjunctive, something that "should" or "might" occur or a word in the future tense needing "will."

Worship --"Worship" is from a Greek word that means "make obeisance," specifically to prostrate yourself before authority, as we would use the Chinese term, "kowtow." In the previous verse, this Greek word was used with the verb meaning "falling down." The form is either the future tense or a form of possibility, that is, what "should" happen. It is not a command as translated.

the -- (WP) The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.  This word appears before "God" not "Lord."

Lord -- The word translated as "Lord," is the same as the one used to describe a master of slaves. While most references to slaves in the KJV are translated to "servants," the use of "Lord" and "slaves" is common in Christ's parables because it describes a common employment situation of his time.

your -- The word translated as "your" is the possessive form of the second person pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."

God, -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods. See this article for more.

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

serve. -- (CW, WF) The primary meaning of the Greek word translated as "serve" is "to work for hire," but its secondary meaning is "to be enslaved to." This is not Jesus's normal word that means "serve." Jesus only uses this word in two verses, here and the parallel in Luke 4:8.  The form of the verb is not a command nor is it the present tense. It is either the future tense, or more likely, a subjunctive, something that "should" be done.

him -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective. In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." This pronoun follows the noun so "of his."

only -- "Only" is an adjective that means "alone," "solitary," "only," "single," "unique," "made in one piece," "without [someone]," "only [something]," "unique," "one above all others," and "on one condition only." This word was not a part of the original verse in the Septuagint.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Γέγραπται  [34 verses](3rd sg perf ind mp) "It is written" is from grapho which means "to mark", "to express by written characters", "to write a letter", "to write down [a law]", "to proscribe", "to ordain", "to write for oneself", "to enroll oneself", "to draw signs", "to describe a figure" "to brand," and "to indict."

Κύριον [92 verses](noun sg masc acc) "The Lord" is from kyrios (kurios), which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family."

τὸν [821 verses](article sg masc acc)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, "the," which usually precedes a noun. Without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

θεόν [144 verses] (noun sg masc acc) "God" is from theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."

σου [144 verses](pron 2nd sg gen) "Thy" is from sou which means "you" and "your."

προσκυνήσεις (2nd sg aor subj act or sg fut ind act) "Worship" is from proskyneo, which means "make obeisance", "fall down and worship," and specifically means to prostrate yourself before authority, as we would use the Chinese term, "kowtow."

καὶ [1089 verses](partic) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just."

αὐτῷ [106 verses](pron/adj sg masc/neut dat) "Him" is  is auto, the dative case of the third-person, singular adjective that is used as a pronoun. The word also means "the same,""one's true self," and "the soul" as opposed to the body. It also means "of one's own accord."

μόνῳ  [4 verses](adj sg masc dat) "Only" is from monon, which means "alone", "solitary", "only", "one above all others", "made in one piece", "single," and "unique."

λατρεύσεις.” [2 verses] (2nd sg fut ind act or 2nd sg aor subj) "Serve" is from latreuo, which means "to work for hire or pay", "to be subject or enslaved to", "to serve", "to be devoted to," and "to serve the gods with prayers and sacrifices."

Related Verses: 

Matthew 4:10 Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God...

parallel comparison: 

Again, the King James Version is a copy of Matthew 4:10, but the Greek source we used today doesn't include the first phrase. There is also a difference in order. In Matthew's account, this is the final temptation, not the second. 

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

Together, these three images, a master, people kowtowing, and being enslaved, create a strong sense of humbling yourself before God. This is a much stronger image in Greek than the KJV translation version.

Front Page Date: 

Nov 10 2023