The Temptation of Jesus. 1^{* a} Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2^b He fasted for forty days and forty nights,^* and afterwards he was hungry. 3The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” 4^* He said in reply, “It is written:^c

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

5^* Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, 6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you’

and ‘with their hands they will support you,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”^d

7Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”^e 8Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, 9and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”^* 10At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship

and him alone shall you serve.’”^f

11Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

God’s Care. 1Be careful to observe this whole commandment^a that I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. 2Remember how for these forty years the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the wilderness,^b so as to test you by affliction, to know what was in your heart: to keep his commandments, or not. 3He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna,^c a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone^* that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. 4The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years.^d 5So you must know in your heart that, even as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD, your God, disciplines you.^e 6Therefore, keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him.

Cautions About Prosperity. 7^f For the LORD, your God, is bringing you into a good country, a land with streams of water, with springs and fountains welling up in the hills and valleys, 8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and of honey, 9a land where you will always have bread and where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones contain iron and in whose hills you can mine copper. 10But when you have eaten and are satisfied, you must bless the LORD, your God, for the good land he has given you.

The New Commandment.^* 7Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.^f 8And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,^* for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.^g 9Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.^h 10Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.ⁱ 11Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Members of the Community.^* 12I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven^j for his name’s sake.^*

13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.^k

14I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

15Do not love the world or the things of the world.^* If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.^l 16For all that is in the world, sensual lust,^* enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. 17Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.^m

The Temptation of Jesus.^* 1^a Filled with the holy Spirit,^* Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert 2for forty days,^* to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.^b 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”^c 5Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. 6The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.^d 7All this will be yours, if you worship me.” 8Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written:

‘You shall worship the Lord, your God,

and him alone shall you serve.’”^e

9^* Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you,

to guard you,’^f

11and:

‘With their hands they will support you,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”^g

12Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”^h 13^* When the devil had finished every temptation,ⁱ he departed from him for a time.