Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
World English Bible
Matthew 4:8
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
Show this verse in
WEB ▾
Show this verse in
-
Showing
WEB World English Bible Public Domain ✓ - Modern English
- BSB Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
- LSV Literal Standard Version A modern, highly literal translation (2020) · CC BY-SA 4.0
- ULB Unlocked Literal Bible An open-licensed literal translation produced for translators · CC BY-SA 4.0
- WMB World Messianic Bible The World English Bible with Hebrew names and Messianic-Jewish terms · Public Domain
- FBV Free Bible Version A modern translation in contemporary English from the original languages · CC BY-SA 4.0
- BBE Bible in Basic English A 20th-century translation using a simple, limited vocabulary · Public Domain
- ULT unfoldingWord Literal Text unfoldingWord's open-licensed literal translation, the successor to the ULB · CC BY-SA 4.0
- MSB Majority Standard Bible A modern translation of the Majority/Byzantine text — the Berean counterpart to the critical-text BSB · Public Domain
- TCENT Text-Critical English New Testament A modern reasoned-eclectic New Testament (2022) · CC BY 4.0
- F35 Family 35 New Testament Wilbur Pickering's Byzantine-priority New Testament, with text-critical commentary notes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- OJB Orthodox Jewish Bible A Messianic-Jewish English Bible using transliterated Hebrew names and terms · CC BY 4.0
- Historic editions
- KJV King James Version Public Domain
- ASV American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
- GNV Geneva Bible (1599) The Reformation-era study Bible that preceded the King James · Public Domain
- DRA Douay-Rheims (1899) An English Catholic translation from the Latin Vulgate · Public Domain
- YLT Young's Literal Translation An extremely literal 19th-century rendering · Public Domain
- DBY Darby Bible A literal 19th-century translation by J. N. Darby · Public Domain
- WBT Webster's Bible Noah Webster's 1833 modernization of the King James Version · Public Domain
- TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534) The pioneering early-modern English New Testament (New Testament only) · Public Domain
- JPS JPS Tanakh (1917) An early Jewish English translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament only) · Public Domain
- RV Revised Version (1885) The 1885 British revision of the King James Version; parent of the American Standard Version · Public Domain
- LEESER Isaac Leeser Tanakh (1853) The first Jewish English translation of the Hebrew Bible (1853, Old Testament only) · Public Domain
- KJVCP KJV Cambridge Paragraph Bible David Norton's critical Cambridge edition of the King James Version, set in paragraphs · Public Domain
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
-
All kingdoms of the world can be seen from the top of a single mountain.
Astronomy · Matthew 4:8
The scientific record: Because Earth is spherical, line-of-sight from any elevation is limited by its curvature and cannot reveal distant continents. (NASA)
Contradictions (4)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
-
Who owns the earth?
A wide set of passages (Gen 14:19, 22; Exod 9:29; 19:5; Deut 10:14; Ps 24:1; 50:12; 89:11; 1 Cor 10:26) affirm that God owns the earth absolutely. Matthew 4:8-9 and Luke 4:5-6 have Satan offer all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus — an offer only meaningful if Satan has them to give.
Critical scholarship: Genuinely disputed among scholars.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
-
Who is the Lord of this world?
The Hebrew Bible repeatedly affirms YHWH as sovereign over all the kingdoms and the whole earth, but several New Testament passages — most notably the Temptation narrative and 2 Corinthians 4:4 — call Satan the "prince of this world" or "god of this world" with the kingdoms of the world apparently in his gift.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
-
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, what was the sequence of temptations?
Matthew 4:1-11 orders the temptations: (1) stones to bread, (2) pinnacle of the temple, (3) kingdoms of the world from a mountain. Luke 4:1-13 orders them: (1) stone to bread, (2) kingdoms of the world from a mountain, (3) pinnacle of the temple.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
-
What is the shape of the earth?
Isaiah 40:22 describes God sitting upon the "circle of the earth," which apologists routinely cite as evidence the Bible knew the planet was spherical. Matthew 4:8 then has the devil taking Jesus up a mountain high enough to see "all the kingdoms of the world" — a geometry that only works on a flat earth.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Historical detail
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Matthew 4:8 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/matthew/4/8?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).