What Does Luke 4:6 Mean?
And the Slanderer said to him, I will give you all this authority and the weight of them, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.THE KEY
The repeated “give” sounds like ownership until “delivered unto me” reveals the Slanderer as a recipient before he is a giver.
THE MEANING
The Slanderer presents all this authority and weight as something he can hand over at will. Yet his own words say it has already been handed over to him, so the offer reveals a prior transfer before any promise of further giving. The one who distributes power is not necessarily its source.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that whoever can offer power must be its original source: “is delivered unto me” puts a transfer before the Slanderer’s offer.
THE ROOT
παραδέδοται
paradédotai
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
give; with παρά (para), hand over or deliver
The clause says the authority “has been handed over to me,” then the speaker pivots to “I will give” and “I give”, all forms of δίδωμι (didōmi, “give”). The transfer is already behind the offer: the Slanderer speaks as a distributor of what he first received.
ALSO GROWS
dōsō: I will give
δώσω
This is the speaker’s first promise, from the same give-root as what was handed over to him.
didōmi: I give
δίδωμι
The closing claim repeats the same verb, making the repeated giving audible beneath the English.
paradidōmi: hand over, deliver
παραδίδωμι
The compound names the prior transfer that makes the speaker’s offer possible.
ἐξουσίαν
exousian
GROWS FROM
ἔξεστι
exesti
it is permitted; authority as a right or jurisdiction to act
“power” in this verse is exousian. The offer is not merely force: ἐξουσία (exousia, “authority”) names a right to act or rule. Its permission-shaped family fits the verse’s language of authority being transferred and then exercised.
ALSO GROWS
exesti: it is permitted or possible
ἔξεστι
This related form brings out the permission beneath authority: what one is allowed or entitled to do.
exousiazō: exercise authority or have power over
ἐξουσιάζω
This verb shows the active reach of the authority being offered.
δόξαν
doxan
GROWS FROM
δοκέω
dokeō
think, seem, regard; the family carries esteem and reputation
“the weight of them” in this verse is doxan. δόξα (doxa, “weight, standing, honor”) carries more than decorative splendor: it includes the esteem attached to what is regarded as important. The Slanderer offers both control and the perceived weight of the realms.
ALSO GROWS
doxa: weight, standing, honor, splendor
δόξα
This is the word in the verse, naming the realms’ public weight as well as their visible splendor.
doxazō: honor, glorify, give renown
δοξάζω
This related verb shows how doxa becomes recognition or honor given to someone.
dokeō: think, seem, regard
δοκέω
The family’s link to how something is regarded illuminates the reputation and esteem carried by doxa.
THE PATTERN
Authority and abundance appear as what is received and entrusted, so the one distributing them is not automatically their source.
And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding.Jesus answered, You would have no authority at all against me, unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you has a greater shortcoming.For who sifts you apart? And what do you hold that you did not take? But if you did take it, why do you boast as though you had not taken it?THE THREAD
And he went away and spoke together with the chief priests and the captains, how he might hand him over to them.Luke uses the same verb family here and in Judas’s plan to “betray”: παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi, “hand over”). That echo makes the transfer itself visible as something that can serve a scheme of control or betrayal; holding what has been handed over does not tell you where it began or whether the handover is rightful.
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