Luke - 4:6



6 The devil said to him, "I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Luke 4:6.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
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.
And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
And he said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them.
And the devil said to him, I will give thee all this power, and their glory; for it is given up to me, and to whomsoever I will I give it.
and the Devil said to him, 'To thee I will give all this authority, and their glory, because to me it hath been delivered, and to whomsoever I will, I do give it;
And the Devil said to Him, "To you will I give all this authority and this splendour; for it has been handed over to me, and on whomsoever I will I bestow it.
And the Evil One said, I will give you authority over all these, and the glory of them, for it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone at my pleasure.
and he said to him: "To you, I will give all this power, and its glory. For they have been handed over to me, and I give them to whomever I wish.
"I will give you all this power, and the splendor of them; for it has been given into my hands and I give it to whom I wish.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And the devil said unto him, All this (a) power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is (b) delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
(a) By this word "power" are meant the kingdoms themselves which have the power: and so this is said using the figure of speech metonymy.
(b) This is surely so, for he is prince of the world, but not absolutely, and is the sovereign of it only by permission and request, and therefore he does not truly say that he can give it to whom he will.

And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee,..... That is, all the kingdoms of the world, and all the government and jurisdiction over them:
and the glory of them; the riches, honours, and grandeur belonging to them:
for that is delivered unto me: so far he spoke modestly, in that he owned an original, superior governor of them, by whom he pretended they were transferred to him; but lied, in that he suggested they were put into his hands by him, who had the supreme power over them; and that he acted by his constitution and appointment, as a deputy under him; when what power he had, as the God of the world, was by usurpation, and not by designation of God; and at most only by permission: and least of all was it true what follows;
and to whomsoever I will I give it; or "these", as the Vulgate Latin reads; that is, these kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; when so to do is the peculiar and sole prerogative of God: nor can Satan dispose of the goods of a single man, nor of a herd of swine, nor enter into them without leave from God.

I give it to whomsoever I will - Not so, Satan. It is God, not thou, that putteth down one, and setteth up another: although sometimes Satan, by God's permission, may occasion great revolutions in the world.

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