Passage

Matthew 4.2

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

"2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered."

"3. And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. 4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:1-4, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

"2. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward."

"3. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4. But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”" (Matthew 4:1-4, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

"2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred."

"3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:1-4, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Then Jesus was led up to the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the Devil,"

"2. and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he did hunger."

"3. And the Tempter having come to him said, 'If Son thou art of God, speak that these stones may become loaves.' 4. But he answering said, 'It hath been written, Not upon bread alone doth man live, but upon every word coming forth from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:1-4, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.