---
title: Matthew 4:10
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-4-10/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-4-10.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Matthew 4:10
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Matthew 4:10

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> “Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

## JW Usage

Matthew 4:10 is a cornerstone text for JW worship theology. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 and tells Satan, "It is Jehovah your God you must worship [proskuneo], and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." The NWT renders proskuneo here as "worship" because the object is Jehovah. The Watchtower deploys 4:10 as the decisive proof that worship belongs to Jehovah alone — which is then used to restrict the same Greek word to "obeisance" when directed at Jesus elsewhere.

## Protestant Usage

The Watchtower has a real exegetical point here: Matthew 4:10 does affirm that exclusive worship belongs to God. The problem is not the verse; it is the NWT's inconsistent rendering of the same Greek word (proskuneo) across the New Testament. In Matthew 4:10 it is "worship" (object: Jehovah). In Matthew 14:33 — the disciples' response to Jesus walking on water — it is "obeisance." In Hebrews 1:6 — God commanding the angels to proskuneo the Son — it is "obeisance." At the door: "Your own NWT in Matthew 4:10 translates proskuneo as 'worship' because the object is God. When the same Greek word is directed at Jesus, the NWT downgrades it to 'obeisance.' That is a theological decision, not a linguistic one. If Jesus receives the same proskuneo Matthew 4:10 reserves for Jehovah alone, what does that mean?"

## NWT Issue

Matthew 4:10's "worship" rendering is itself accurate. The divergence is at the corpus level: the NWT renders proskuneo as "worship" when the object is Jehovah (Matt 4:10) or false gods (Rev 13:4, 13:8), but downgrades the same word to "obeisance" when the object is Jesus (Matt 14:33, 28:9, 28:17, Heb 1:6). The selection is by recipient, not by context or grammar. The apologetic significance of Matt 4:10 is that it anchors the exclusive-worship principle the Watchtower then uses the inconsistent proskuneo rendering to preserve against the passages where Jesus receives the same worship.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Hebrews 1:6 Quotes a Jehovah-Worship Text — And Applies It to Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/deut3243-hebrews16-worship.md) — Deuteronomy 32:43 LXX / Hebrews 1:6 / Dead Sea Scrolls [Deity of Christ]
- [Proskuneo — Same Word, Different Translation](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/proskuneo-worship-obeisance.md) — Hebrews 1:6, Matthew 14:33, Revelation 5:14 [NWT Translation]
- [Angels Do Not Share the Divine Nature](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/angels-not-divine-nature.md) — Hebrews 1:5-14 — the seven-fold contrast between the Son and angels [Deity of Christ]