^8:28When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes,⁵⁰ two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. ^8:29They⁵¹ cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone!⁵² Have you come here to torment us before the time?”⁵³^8:30A⁵⁴ large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them. ^8:31Then the demons begged him,⁵⁵ “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ^8:32And he said,⁵⁶ “Go!” So⁵⁷ they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water. ^8:33The⁵⁸ herdsmen ran off, went into the town,⁵⁹ and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. ^8:34Then⁶⁰ the entire town⁶¹ came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

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Footnotes

50 The textual tradition here is quite complicated. A number of (B C [Δ] Θ al sys,p,h) read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading here. Many other (א2 L W f1, 13 𝔐 [syhmg] bo) have “Gergesenes.” Others (892c latt syhmg sa mae) have “Gerasenes,” which is the reading followed in Luke 8:26. The difference between Matthew and Luke may be due to uses of variant regional terms. The region of the Gadarenes would be in Gentile territory on the southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee across from Galilee. Luke 8:26 and Mark 5:1 record this miracle as occurring “in the region of the Gerasenes.” “Irrespective of how one settles this issue, for the [second and] 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.
51 Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
52 Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοὶ (ti hēmin 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 us alone.…”
53 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.
54 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
55 Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
56 Grk “And he said to them.”
57 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
58 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
59 Or “city.” But see the on “Gadarenes” in 8:28.
60 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 1).
61 Or “city.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When he had come to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him as they came out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What do you have to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

A long way off from them, a large herd of pigs was feeding. “If you drive us out,” the demons begged him, “send us into the herd of pigs.”

“Go!” he told them. So when they had come out, they entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. Then the men who tended them fled. They went into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to those who were demon-possessed. At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

NLTNew Living Translation

When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area.

They began screaming at him, “Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?”

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

“All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.

The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And when he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from among the tombs met him, very violent, so that no one was able to pass by along that road. And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do you have to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a long way from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons implored him, saying, “If you are going to expel us, send us into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go!” So they departed and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water. Now the herdsmen fled and went into the town and reported everything, including the things concerning the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him that he would depart from their region.

KJV 1900King James Version

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

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