What Does Matthew 4:9 Mean?
And he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you fall down and bow down to me.
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 saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.THE KEY
The kingdoms are offered with a posture attached: they go to the one who bows.
THE MEANING
Everything is promised, but only on the condition that you bow to the one making the offer. The verse exposes a bargain in which possession is tied to posture, making allegiance visible in the body.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that the promised gift can be separated from the allegiance demanded in exchange.
THE ROOT
προσκυνήσῃς
proskynēsēs
GROWS FROM
προσκυν-
proskyn-
To bow down or prostrate oneself in homage.
“bow down” in this verse is proskynēsēs. English “worship” can sound inward, but this verb describes bodily obeisance; the verse reinforces that sense with the separate phrase “fall down.” The condition demands a visible posture as the price of the offered kingdoms.
ALSO GROWS
proskynēsis: Bowing down, prostration, or worship.
προσκύνησις
This noun makes the posture demanded here explicit: the offer seeks an act of obeisance.
proskynētēs: One who bows down or worships.
προσκυνητής
The related word names the person by the posture and allegiance expressed in the act.
δώσω
dōsō
GROWS FROM
δο-/δω- (do-/dō-)
To give, grant, or place something in another’s possession.
“give” in this verse is dōsō. The promised giving is a transfer with a condition attached. The root helps expose the offer as an exchange: possession is placed on one side, the bow on the other.
ALSO GROWS
dōron: A gift.
δῶρον
The promised kingdoms are presented as something granted, while the condition reveals the price bound to that gift.
dosis: A giving or gift.
δόσις
This related noun keeps attention on the act of transferring what is offered.
THE PATTERN
Bowing and service make allegiance visible by showing whose claim is being honored.
You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a zealous God, visiting the crookedness of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor bow down to the golden image which you have set up.And they bow down to the dragon, who has given authority to the beast, and they bow down to the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? And who is able to fight with him?THE THREAD
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true ones who bow down bow before the Father in breath and in truth, for the Father seeks such as these to bow before him.John uses the same Greek verb, προσκυνέω (proskyneō, bow down), found in Matthew’s demand. The shared word shows that the posture sought by the offer can also be directed toward the Father; the question is whom the bow honors.
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