NT Text: Luke 4:10-11
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Redemptive-Historical Progression + Analogy
Significance: Satan's temple-pinnacle temptation consists of a direct quotation of Psalm 91:11-12 — "He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully; and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone" — inviting Jesus to put the promise to an artificial test. Psalm 91 is a song of trust in divine protection for those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High; the protection promised is for the covenant person who walks in faithful dependence, not one who manufactures crises to compel divine intervention. Satan's citation is precise but hermeneutically perverted: he applies a promise of providential care to a staged act of presumption. Jesus' counter-citation from Deuteronomy 6:16 ("Do not put the LORD your God to the test") demonstrates correct OT interpretation — Psalm 91's promise cannot be weaponized against the principle that testing God is itself disobedience. The episode illuminates how Scripture can be technically quoted while being interpretively distorted.