What Does Luke 4:8 Mean?
And Jesus answered him, Go behind me, Adversary. For it is written, You shall bow down to the LORD your God, and serve him alone.
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 Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.THE KEY
The verse reveals worship as more than a bowed gesture: the same exclusive allegiance also shapes whom you serve.
THE MEANING
When power promises influence in exchange for allegiance, the Adversary is sent behind Jesus, and God alone is named as the one to bow before and serve. The verse uses one verb for bowing and another for service, joining posture with lived allegiance.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that worship can remain a private feeling while your allegiance serves another power.
THE ROOT
προσκυνήσεις
proskynēseis
GROWS FROM
προσκυν-
προσκυν- (proskyn-): bow down before, prostrate oneself.
“bow down” in this verse is proskynēseis. The Greek verb names a posture of bending down before someone, so the English “worship” carries a bodily gesture. The next verb moves from bowing to service: the verse joins who receives the gesture with whom the life serves.
ALSO GROWS
proskynēsis: bowing down, prostration
προσκύνησις
This noun names the act expressed by the verb in the verse, making worship’s posture visible.
proskynētēs: one who bows down; worshipper
προσκυνητής
The related word describes a person by this posture of allegiance, connecting the act of bowing with an enduring orientation.
λατρεύσεις
latreuseis
GROWS FROM
λατρευ-
λατρευ- (latreu-): render service, especially service offered to God.
“serve” in this verse is latreuseis. This word gives devotion an active form: allegiance is enacted through service. Its family includes λατρεία (latreia, service), the noun used in Romans 12:1 for presenting a life to God.
ALSO GROWS
latreia: service, especially religious service
λατρεία
Romans 12:1 uses this noun for the offering of a life, extending the verse’s service beyond a spoken declaration.
latreutēs: one who serves in worship
λατρευτής
This related noun names the person through the service rendered, linking allegiance to an ongoing practice.
THE PATTERN
Allegiance to God takes shape in service, from the offering of a life to the service of those who belong to God.
You shall stand in awe of the LORD your God, and serve him, and swear by his nature.Therefore I urge you, brothers, through the compassions of God, to set your bodies beside God as a living sacrifice, set apart, well-pleasing to him, which is your true service.And nothing placed under the curse will be there any longer. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him.THE THREAD
You shall stand in awe of the LORD your God, and serve him, and swear by his nature.The Greek text of both verses uses λατρεύσεις (latreuseis, “you shall serve”) for service to God. Luke’s scene therefore carries Deuteronomy’s command into the moment when another power offers itself allegiance.
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