Luke 8:30-32
New English Translation
30 Jesus then[a] asked him, “What is your name?” He[b] said, “Legion,”[c] because many demons had entered him. 31 And they began to beg[d] him not to order[e] them to depart into the abyss.[f] 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,[g] and the demonic spirits[h] begged Jesus[i] to let them go into them. He gave them permission.[j]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 8:30 tn 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.
- Luke 8:30 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Luke 8:30 sn 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.
- Luke 8:31 tn One could also translate the imperfect tense here with a repetitive force like “begged him repeatedly.”
- Luke 8:31 tn Or “command.”
- Luke 8:31 tn 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 (Jub. 5:6-7; 1 En. 10:4-6; 18:11-16).
- Luke 8:32 tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.
- Luke 8:32 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 8:32 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 8:32 sn 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.
Luke 8:30-32
New International Version
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.(A)
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.