Luke 4:4 · Bible study
Luke 4:4 Commentary: 'Not by Bread Alone'
Greek · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 when tempted to turn stones to bread. The meaning of 'every word of God' and trusting God's provision.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Jesus refuses to use divine power for self-preservation, trusting instead that God sustains life through his word, whether by bread, manna, or any command he gives.
- Key words: γέγραπται (perf. pass. ind., 'it stands written'), ῥῆμα (spoken word, utterance), ζάω (to live, with a quality beyond mere existence).
- Main debate: Whether the clause 'but by every word of God' is original to Luke or added from Matthew 4:4; and what precisely 'every word' includes (God's creative power, Scripture, his providential commands).
- Theological theme: Dependence on God; Jesus as the faithful Son who succeeds where Israel failed; the sufficiency of God's word for all of life.
- Best use: A model for resisting temptation, a comfort for those facing scarcity, and a call to trust God's provision through ordinary and extraordinary means.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
KJV King James Version 1769
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And Jesus answered him, saying, `It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And Jesus answered unto him saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And Jesus answered him: is written that Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y Jesús respondiéndole|strong="G0611, G4314, G0846", dijo: Escrito está: Que no con pan solo vivirá el hombre, mas con toda palabra de Dios.
Jesus lhe respondeu: Está escrito que não só de pão viverá o ser humano.
Jésus lui répondit: Il est écrit:
Und Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihm: Es steht geschrieben: “Der Mensch lebt nicht allein vom Brot, sondern von einem jeglichen Wort Gottes.”
En Jezus antwoordde hem, zeggende: Er is geschreven, dat de mens bij brood alleen niet zal leven, maar bij alle woord Gods.
E Gesù gli rispose: Sta scritto: Non di pane soltanto vivrà l’uomo.
Ale Jezus odpowiedział mu, mówiąc: Napisano, iż nie samym chlebem żyć będzie człowiek, ale każdem słowem Bożem.
Иисус сказал ему в ответ: написано, что не хлебом одним будет жить человек, но всяким словом Божиим.
耶穌 回答說：「經上記著說：『 人 活著 不是 單 靠 食物，乃是靠 神口裡所出的一切話。』」
And Jesus made answer to him, It has been said in the Writings, Bread is not man's only need.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Luke 4:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 to refuse using divine power for self-gratification. Cambridge Bible notes the perfect tense γέγραπται (gegraptai), 'it stands written', showing the Scripture's enduring authority. Jesus answers 'as man for man,' not claiming his identity as Son of God. Gill's Exposition adds that Jesus chooses to depend on God's will rather than turn stones to bread. The phrase 'every word of God' (παντὶ ῥήματι θεοῦ) points to God's sustaining power through his commands and blessings, not merely Scripture in general. Some sources suggest the clause 'but by every word of God' may have been added from Matthew 4:4, but the core teaching remains: true life comes from trusting the Father's provision, not from satisfying immediate hunger.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Jesus refuses to perform a miracle for his own benefit, choosing trust in the Father's provision.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The phrase 'but by every word of God' | Christians agree the core truth is that life depends on God's sustaining word, not just bread. | Some scholars (citing manuscript evidence from א, B, D, L) argue the phrase was added by copyists from Matthew 4:4; others defend its authenticity in Luke. |
| What 'every word of God' means | All traditions see it as God's ongoing provision and revelation, whether through Scripture, commands, or providential care. | Some (following Gill) interpret it as God's sustaining power behind all food; others focus on Scripture itself as spiritual nourishment; a third view emphasizes God's spoken commands about what may be eaten. |
| Jesus' reliance as a model for believers | Jesus demonstrates perfect trust in the Father, refusing to act independently. | Some traditions stress the imitability of Jesus' example, believers can resist temptation by Scripture, while others emphasize Jesus' unique role as the obedient Son whose work we cannot replicate. |
| Order of temptations (Luke vs Matthew) | Both accounts contain the same three temptations and the same responses. | Luke places the temple temptation second and the kingdoms temptation third, while Matthew reverses them. Some prefer Matthew's order as more climactic; others see Luke's as thematic (test of trust, then allegiance). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Luke sets the temptation immediately after Jesus' baptism. Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is led into the wilderness for forty days of fasting (Luke 4:1-2). The devil's first temptation targets Jesus' physical hunger: 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread' (v.3). The temptation is not only about bread but about identity, will Jesus act independently from the Father or remain in dependent trust?
Jesus' reply reaches back to Israel's own wilderness testing. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses explains why God gave manna: 'He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna... that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh's mouth.' The manna was a daily lesson in dependence, Israel could gather only what God provided each day.
By quoting this verse, Jesus aligns himself with Israel's story, but as the faithful Son who passes the test. He refuses to take shortcuts. The 'word of God' in Deuteronomy includes God's commands, promises, and the very command that sustains creation. Jesus trusts that the same God who fed Israel with manna can sustain him without normal food. The temptation is not just about turning stones into bread; it is about whether Jesus will trust God's timing and provision or seize control himself.
Vincent's Word Studies notes that 'by bread' (ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ) suggests dependence, as if leaning on bread alone. Jesus declares that human life rests on a deeper foundation: the sustaining word of the Creator.
Textual Notes
The phrase 'but by every word of God' is absent from several early manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus (א), Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Bezae (D), and Codex Regius (L). Many scholars believe it was added by copyists to align Luke with Matthew 4:4, where the full quotation appears. Others argue it was original and accidentally omitted by some scribes. The meaning of the verse is not significantly altered, since Deuteronomy 8:3 itself speaks of living by every word from God's mouth.
Reception History
This verse has been central to Christian teaching on fasting, dependence, and resistance to temptation. Early desert fathers memorized it as a weapon against the devil. In the Reformation, it was used to affirm that Scripture alone provides the spiritual nourishment needed for life. Monastic traditions have cited it to encourage simplicity and trust in God's provision. More broadly, the saying 'man shall not live by bread alone' has entered common language as a proverb about human need for more than material goods.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Temptation: Physical hunger meets the offer of immediate relief. The devil attacks at the point of Jesus' weakness, but also at the point of his identity: 'If you are the Son of God.'
- The Response: Jesus answers not with a miracle but with Scripture. He seizes 'the sword of the Spirit' (Cambridge). The perfect tense of γέγραπται means the word 'stands written' with abiding authority.
- The Principle: True life does not depend on bread alone but on every word that comes from God. This includes his commands, his promises, and his power to sustain through ordinary or extraordinary means.
Five-point outline
- Context: Jesus is full of the Spirit, led into the wilderness, hungry.
- Temptation: The devil exploits physical need to question Jesus' trust in the Father.
- Scripture Weapon: Jesus uses Deuteronomy 8:3, quoting the lesson of manna, dependence learned through hunger.
- Meaning of 'Every Word': Not just written Scripture but God's active, sustaining speech, his command, his blessing, his provision.
- Application for Believers: We are called to trust God for our needs, not to demand signs or shortcuts. Our deepest life is sustained by God's word.
Illustration hooks
- The Manna Test: Israel had to gather only enough for each day. Any hoarding spoiled. God trained them to depend on his daily word of provision (Exodus 16).
- Fasting and Feasting: Many Christians fast to learn that God's word satisfies more than food. Jesus' forty-day fast models this truth physically.
- Anxiety About Provision: When we worry about bills, health, or food, this verse invites us to consider how God might sustain us in ways we haven't imagined.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean we should never care about having enough food or money?
- What does it look like practically to 'live by every word of God' in daily decisions?
- How does Jesus' response to temptation help me when I face the urge to take shortcuts?
Leading a Discussion
In this passage, Jesus faces a physical need and a spiritual test. He responds not with a demonstration of power but with a quotation from the Torah. This reveals his radical trust in the Father. As you discuss, consider: what kind of life is Jesus saying is really necessary?
Discussion questions
- Read Deuteronomy 8:3. Why did God let Israel go hungry before giving them manna? What did he want them to learn?
- The devil says, "If you are the Son of God..." What is he really challenging? Is he just asking about Jesus' identity, or something more?
- Jesus answers with "It is written." How does this apply to our own moments of temptation? What makes Scripture an effective weapon?
- What does "every word of God" include? Think of examples: commands, promises, the Bible, God's creative word, the Holy Spirit's promptings.
- How does this passage speak to anxiety about money, food, career, or security? What would "living by every word" look like in those areas?
- Compare Jesus' response to how Israel grumbled in the wilderness (Exodus 16). What does Jesus do differently, and what can we learn about obedience?
- If you were in Jesus' place, hungry and tempted to take an easy way out, how would you apply this verse this week?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 23:25 | You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. |
| Deuteronomy 8:3 | He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth. |
| Isaiah 8:20 | Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. |
| Jeremiah 49:11 | Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive. Let your widows trust in me.” |
| Matthew 4:4 | But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’” |
| Matthew 6:25 | Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? |
| Matthew 6:26 | See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? |
| Matthew 6:31 | “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
5 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator emphasises that Jesus meets the tempter not as the Son of God but as the representative man, refusing to grasp at divine privilege. Instead he wields Scripture as the eternal, written word, teaching that true life depends on God's word, not physical bread alone.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that Jesus counters Satan by quoting Scripture itself, showing that the Word of God is the true source of life, not just physical bread. This points to the believer's complete dependence on God's spoken word for spiritual sustenance.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill clarifies that the "every word of God" Jesus cites does not mean Scripture or gospel teaching, but God's power to sustain life by any means he chooses. Jesus therefore refuses to turn stones to bread because he trusts the Father's provision and timing, not because bread itself is the issue. This is about dependence on God's sovereign will, not a lesson about spiritual nourishment.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Christ's temptation as the direct fulfillment of the promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. Where Adam fell by one temptation, Christ conquers the tempter through all his attacks, making an immediate recovery of what was lost and turning the tide of the battle.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent draws attention to the Greek phrase "on bread," where the preposition implies dependence rather than mere means. He notes the same construction appears with "by every word" in the parallel passage, suggesting both are about reliance on what sustains life.