^8:26So⁸⁶ they sailed over to the region of the Gerasenes,⁸⁷ which is opposite⁸⁸ Galilee. ^8:27As⁸⁹ Jesus⁹⁰ stepped ashore,⁹¹ a certain man from the town⁹² met him who was possessed by demons.⁹³ For a long time this man⁹⁴ had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among⁹⁵ the tombs. ^8:28When he saw⁹⁶ Jesus, he cried out, fell⁹⁷ down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone,⁹⁸ Jesus, Son of the Most High⁹⁹ God! I beg you, do not torment¹⁰⁰ me!” ^8:29For Jesus¹⁰¹ had started commanding¹⁰² the evil¹⁰³ spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so¹⁰⁴ he would be bound with chains and shackles¹⁰⁵ and kept under guard. But¹⁰⁶ he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted¹⁰⁷ places.)¹⁰⁸^8:30Jesus then¹⁰⁹ asked him, “What is your name?” He¹¹⁰ said, “Legion,”¹¹¹ because many demons had entered him. ^8:31And they began to beg¹¹² him not to order¹¹³ them to depart into the abyss.¹¹⁴^8:32Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,¹¹⁵ and the demonic spirits¹¹⁶ begged Jesus¹¹⁷ to let them go into them. He gave them permission.¹¹⁸^8:33So¹¹⁹ the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs¹²⁰ rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned. ^8:34When¹²¹ the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news¹²² in the town¹²³ and countryside. ^8:35So¹²⁴ the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They¹²⁵ found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ^8:36Those¹²⁶ who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.¹²⁷^8:37Then¹²⁸ all the people of the Gerasenes¹²⁹ and the surrounding region¹³⁰ asked Jesus¹³¹ to leave them alone,¹³² for they were seized with great fear.¹³³ So¹³⁴ he got into the boat and left.¹³⁵

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Footnotes

86 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary and transition in the narrative.
87 The textual tradition here is quite complicated. Most , especially later ones (A W Ψ f13 𝔐 sy), read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading in Matt 8:28. Some (א L Θ Ξ f1 33 579 700* 1241 ) have “Gergesenes.” But early and important representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (𝔓75 B D latt) have “Gerasenes,” the reading followed in the translation. The difference between Matthew and Luke may well have to do with uses of variant regional terms. The region of the Gerasenes would be in Gentile territory on the (south)eastern side of the Sea of Galilee across from Galilee. Matthew 8:28 records this miracle as occurring “in the region of the Gadarenes.” “Irrespective of how one settles this issue, for the Third Evangelist the chief concern is that Jesus has crossed over into Gentile territory, ‘opposite Galilee’ ” (J. B. Green, Luke [], ). The region of Gadara extended to the Sea of Galilee and included the town of Sennabris on the southern shore—the town that the herdsmen most likely entered after the drowning of the pigs.
88 That is, across the Sea of Galilee from Galilee.
89 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
90 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91 Grk “stepped out on land.”
92 Or “city.”
93 Grk “who had demons.”
94 Grk “he”; the referent (the demon-possessed man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
95 Or “in.”
96 Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idōn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
97 Grk “and fell,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
98 Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek ( ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone.…”
99 On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.
100 The demons’ plea “do not torment me” is a recognition of Jesus’ inherent authority over evil forces. The request is that Jesus not bother them. There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.
101 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
102 Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parēngeilen, “he commanded”; 𝔓75 B Θ Ξ Ψ f13 579 700 1241 1424 2542 ), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parēngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 ). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive ( §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.
103 Grk “unclean.”
104 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.
105 Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.
106 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
107 Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.
108 This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.
109 Grk “And Jesus.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to pick up the sequence of the narrative prior to the parenthetical note by the author.
110 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
111 The name Legion means “thousands,” a word taken from a Latin term for a large group of soldiers. The term not only suggests a multiple possession, but also adds a military feel to the account. This is a true battle.
112 One could also translate the imperfect tense here with a repetitive force like “begged him repeatedly.”
113 Or “command.”
114 This word, ἄβυσσος (abussos), is a term for the place where the dead await the judgment. It also could hold hostile spirits according to Jewish belief ( 5:6–7; 10:4–6; 18:11–16).
115 Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.
116 Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
117 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
118 Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.
119 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
120 The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.
121 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
122 Or “reported it.” This verb is used three times in the next few verses (vv. 36, 37), showing how the healing became a major topic of conversation in the district.
123 Or “city.”
124 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the people’s response to the report.
125 Grk “Jesus, and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
126 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
127 Or “had been delivered”; Grk “had been saved.” This should not be understood as an expression for full salvation. They were only discussing the healing.
128 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
129 See the note on “Gerasenes” in v. for the same geographical options for the textual variants.
130 Grk “all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes,” but according to L&N 1.80, “περίχωρος may include not only the surrounding region but also the point of reference, for example … ‘the Gerasenes and the people living around them’ Lk 8:37.”
131 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
132 Or “to depart from them.”
133 Again there is great fear at God’s activity, but there is a different reaction. Some people want nothing to do with God’s presence. Mark 5:16 hints that economic reasons motivated their request.
134 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ departure was the result of the Gerasenes’ response. A new sentence was started in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
135 Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.