◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / 1 Kings 19:1-4 [5-7] 8-15a (Elijah hears God in silence); Psalm 42 and 43 (Send out your light and truth); Galatians 3:23-29 (Clothed with Christ in baptism); Luke 8:26-39 (Jesus casts out demons) (New English Translation)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

1 Kings 19:1-4

Elijah Runs for His Life

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. ²Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning,^[a] “May the gods judge me severely^[b] if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”^[c]

³Elijah was afraid,^[d] so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, ⁴while he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He went and sat down under a shrub^[e] and asked the Lord to take his life:^[f] “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.”^[g]

1 Kings 19:5-7

⁵He stretched out^[a] and fell asleep under the shrub. Suddenly an angelic messenger^[b] touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more.^[c] ⁷The angel of the Lord came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.”^[d]

1 Kings 19:8-15

⁸So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹He went into a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly the Lord’s message came to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” ¹⁰He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal^[a] to the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[b] even though the Israelites have abandoned the covenant they made with you,^[c] torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”^[d] ¹¹The Lord^[e] said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.”

A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides,^[f] but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹²After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.^[g] ¹³When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Suddenly^[h] a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” ¹⁴He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal^[i] to the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,^[j] even though the Israelites have abandoned the covenant they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.”^[k] ¹⁵The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the wilderness of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria.

Psalm 42

Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42^[a]

For the music director, a well-written song^[b] by the Korahites.

42 As a deer^[c] longs^[d] for streams of water,
so I long^[e] for you, O God!
²I thirst^[f] for God,
for the living God.
I say,^[g] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”^[h]
³I cannot eat; I weep day and night.^[i]
All day long they say to me,^[j] “Where is your God?”
⁴I will remember and weep.^[k]
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.^[l]
⁵Why are you depressed,^[m] O my soul?^[n]
Why are you upset?^[o]
Wait^[p] for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.^[q]
⁶I am depressed,^[r]
so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,^[s]
from Hermon,^[t] from Mount Mizar.^[u]
⁷One deep stream calls out to another^[v] at the sound of your waterfalls;^[w]
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.^[x]
⁸By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,^[y]
and by night he gives me a song,^[z]
a prayer^[aa] to the God of my life.
⁹I will pray^[ab] to God, my high ridge:^[ac]
“Why do you ignore^[ad] me?
Why must I walk around mourning^[ae]
because my enemies oppress me?”
¹⁰My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,^[af]
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”^[ag]
¹¹Why are you depressed,^[ah] O my soul?^[ai]
Why are you upset?^[aj]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.^[ak]

Footnotes

Psalm 42:1 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.
Psalm 42:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
Psalm 42:1 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (ʾayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (ʾayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
Psalm 42:1 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
Psalm 42:1 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
Psalm 42:2 tn Or “my soul thirsts.”
Psalm 42:2 tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
Psalm 42:2 tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (ʾeraʾeh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (ʾerʾeh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (ʾet) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).
Psalm 42:3 tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”
Psalm 42:3 tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (beʾ^emor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (b^eʾomram, “when they say”) in v. 10.
Psalm 42:4 tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the Lord’s temple. The two cohortative forms indicate the psalmist’s resolve to remember and weep. The expression “pour out upon myself my soul” refers to mourning (see Job 30:16).
Psalm 42:4 tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ʾeddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (ʾaddirim, “nobles”) or ר[י]אַדִּ (ʾaddir, “great,”) plus enclitic ם (mem). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (ʾaddir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.
Psalm 42:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
Psalm 42:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
Psalm 42:5 tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.
Psalm 42:5 tn According to HALOT the term יָחַל (yakhal) means “to wait” in both the Piel and the Hiphil stems. The many contexts where the subjects are biding their time (e.g. Gen 8:10; Job 29:21; 1 Sam 10:8; 13:8; 2 Sam 18:14; 2 Kgs 6:33) suggest that simple waiting is its base meaning. In some contexts the person waiting is hopeful or expectant (Isa 42:4; Ezek 13:6). A number of translations use “hope” in Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5 (NASB, NIV, NRSV, ESV). This makes assumptions about what the Psalmist says to himself. The Psalmist presents a mixture of emotions and is at odds within himself. Given his level of distress, it is very possible that he is telling himself (his soul) to just hang on and not give up, while another part of him is confident that he will have reason to praise God in the future. The translation “wait for God” invites more consideration of the possible emotional state of the Psalmist. The nuance may be to “hope against hope,” to “gut it out” in faith despite not feeling hopeful, to trust, or to have hope.
Psalm 42:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (ʾelohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (p^ene, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.
Psalm 42:6 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
Psalm 42:6 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” The term זָכַר (zakhar) most frequently means “to remember” but can also mean “to mention.” “Mentioning” may be viewed as an act of remembering. Or this may stand metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). Based on the geography of the next line, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates and receives tributaries from the Hermon range, is in view.
Psalm 42:6 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
Psalm 42:6 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mitsʿar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
Psalm 42:7 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (t^ehom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
Psalm 42:7 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
Psalm 42:7 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
Psalm 42:8 sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the Lord”).
Psalm 42:8 tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”
Psalm 42:8 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (t^ehillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (t^efillah, “prayer”).
Psalm 42:9 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
Psalm 42:9 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
Psalm 42:9 tn Or “forget.”
Psalm 42:9 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
Psalm 42:10 tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and Symmachus’ Greek version read “like” instead of “with.”
Psalm 42:10 sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.
Psalm 42:11 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
Psalm 42:11 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
Psalm 42:11 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
Psalm 42:11 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (y^eshuʿot f^eney ʾelohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

Psalm 43

Psalm 43^[a]

43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me^[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me^[c] from deceitful and evil men.^[d]
²For you are the God who shelters me.^[e]
Why do you reject me?^[f]
Why must I walk around^[g] mourning^[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
³Reveal^[i] your light^[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;^[k]
they will escort^[l] me back to your holy hill,^[m]
and to the place where you live.^[n]
⁴Then I will go^[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,^[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,^[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
⁵Why are you depressed,^[r] O my soul?^[s]
Why are you upset?^[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.^[u]

Footnotes

Psalm 43:1 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.
Psalm 43:1 tn Or “argue my case.”
Psalm 43:1 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
Psalm 43:1 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
Psalm 43:2 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
Psalm 43:2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
Psalm 43:2 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
Psalm 43:2 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “send.”
Psalm 43:3 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
Psalm 43:3 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “bring.”
Psalm 43:3 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
Psalm 43:3 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7).
Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
Psalm 43:4 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
Psalm 43:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
Psalm 43:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (y^eshuʿot f^ene ʾelohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.

Galatians 3:23-29

Sons of God Are Heirs of Promise

²³Now before faith^[a] came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners^[b] until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴Thus the law had become our guardian^[c] until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous^[d] by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.^[e] ²⁶For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.^[f] ²⁷For all of you who^[g] were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[h] nor free, there is neither male nor female^[i]—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants,^[j] heirs according to the promise.

Footnotes

Galatians 3:23 tn Or “the faithfulness [of Christ] came.”
Galatians 3:23 tc Instead of the present participle συγκλειόμενοι (sunkleiomenoi; found in P⁴⁶ א A B D* F G P Ψ 33 1739 2464 al), C D¹ 0176 0278 1175 1505 M have the perfect συγκεκλεισμένοι (sunkekleismenoi). The syntactical implication of the perfect is that the cause or the means of being held in custody was confinement (“we were held in custody [by/because of] being confined”). The present participle of course allows for such options, but also allows for contemporaneous time (“while being confined”) and result (“with the result that we were confined”). Externally, the perfect participle has little to commend it, being restricted for the most part to later and Byzantine witnesses.tn Grk “being confined.”
Galatians 3:24 tn Or “disciplinarian,” “custodian,” or “guide.” According to BDAG 748 s.v. παιδαγωγός, “the man, usu. a slave…whose duty it was to conduct a boy or youth…to and from school and to superintend his conduct gener.; he was not a ‘teacher’ (despite the present mng. of the derivative ‘pedagogue’…When the young man became of age, the π. was no longer needed.” L&N 36.5 gives “guardian, leader, guide” here.
Galatians 3:24 tn Or “be justified.”
Galatians 3:25 tn See the note on the word “guardian” in v. 24. The punctuation of vv. 25, 26, and 27 is difficult to represent because of the causal connections between each verse. English style would normally require a comma either at the end of v. 25 or v. 26, but in so doing the translation would then link v. 26 almost exclusively with either v. 25 or v. 27; this would be problematic as scholars debate which two verses are to be linked. Because of this, the translation instead places a period at the end of each verse. This preserves some of the ambiguity inherent in the Greek and does not exclude any particular causal connection.
Galatians 3:26 tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:27 tn Grk “For as many of you as.”
Galatians 3:28 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.
Galatians 3:28 tn Grk “male and female.”
Galatians 3:29 tn Grk “seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.

Luke 8:26-39

Healing of a Demoniac

²⁶So^[a] they sailed over to the region of the Gerasenes,^[b] which is opposite^[c] Galilee. ²⁷As^[d] Jesus^[e] stepped ashore,^[f] a certain man from the town^[g] met him who was possessed by demons.^[h] For a long time this man^[i] had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among^[j] the tombs. ²⁸When he saw^[k] Jesus, he cried out, fell^[l] down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone,^[m] Jesus, Son of the Most High^[n] God! I beg you, do not torment^[o] me!” ²⁹For Jesus^[p] had started commanding^[q] the evil^[r] spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so^[s] he would be bound with chains and shackles^[t] and kept under guard. But^[u] he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted^[v] places.)^[w] ³⁰Jesus then^[x] asked him, “What is your name?” He^[y] said, “Legion,”^[z] because many demons had entered him. ³¹And they began to beg^[aa] him not to order^[ab] them to depart into the abyss.^[ac] ³²Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,^[ad] and the demonic spirits^[ae] begged Jesus^[af] to let them go into them. He gave them permission.^[ag] ³³So^[ah] the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs^[ai] rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned. ³⁴When^[aj] the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran off and spread the news^[ak] in the town^[al] and countryside. ³⁵So^[am] the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They^[an] found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶Those^[ao] who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.^[ap] ³⁷Then^[aq] all the people of the Gerasenes^[ar] and the surrounding region^[as] asked Jesus^[at] to leave them alone,^[au] for they were seized with great fear.^[av] So^[aw] he got into the boat and left.^[ax] ³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go^[ay] with him, but Jesus^[az] sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home,^[ba] and declare^[bb] what God has done for you.”^[bc] So^[bd] he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town^[be] what Jesus^[bf] had done for him.

Footnotes

Luke 8:26 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate a summary and transition in the narrative.
Luke 8:26 tc The textual tradition here is quite complicated. Most mss, especially later ones (A W Ψ ƒ¹³ M sy), read “Gadarenes,” which is the better reading in Matt 8:28. Some mss (א L Θ Ξ ƒ¹ 33 579 700* 1241) have “Gergesenes.” But early and significant representatives of the Alexandrian and Western groups (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. sn 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 [NICNT], 337). 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.
Luke 8:26 sn That is, across the Sea of Galilee from Galilee.
Luke 8:27 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Luke 8:27 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 8:27 tn Grk “stepped out on land.”
Luke 8:27 tn Or “city.”
Luke 8:27 tn Grk “who had demons.”
Luke 8:27 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the demon-possessed man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 8:27 tn Or “in.”
Luke 8:28 tn Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idōn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Luke 8:28 tn 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.
Luke 8:28 tn 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 (BDAG 275 s.v. 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. BDAG 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….”
Luke 8:28 sn On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.
Luke 8:28 sn 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.
Luke 8:29 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 8:29 tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parēngeilen, “he commanded”; P⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ ƒ¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), 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 pm). 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, suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.
Luke 8:29 tn Grk “unclean.”
Luke 8:29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.
Luke 8:29 tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.
Luke 8:29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
Luke 8:29 tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.
Luke 8:29 sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.
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 8:33 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.
Luke 8:33 tn The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.
Luke 8:34 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Luke 8:34 tn 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.
Luke 8:34 tn Or “city.”
Luke 8:35 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the people’s response to the report.
Luke 8:35 tn 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.
Luke 8:36 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
Luke 8:36 tn 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.
Luke 8:37 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Luke 8:37 tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.
Luke 8:37 tn 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.”
Luke 8:37 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 8:37 tn Or “to depart from them.”
Luke 8:37 sn 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.
Luke 8:37 tn 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.
Luke 8:37 tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.
Luke 8:38 tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.
Luke 8:38 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Luke 8:39 tn Grk “your house.”
Luke 8:39 tn Or “describe.”
Luke 8:39 sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what God has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 8:56; 9:21) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.
Luke 8:39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response to Jesus’ instructions.
Luke 8:39 tn Or “city.”
Luke 8:39 sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Elijah Runs for His Life

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Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42[a]

For the music director, a well-written song[b] by the Korahites.

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Psalm 43[a]

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Sons of God Are Heirs of Promise

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Healing of a Demoniac

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Psalm 42^[a]

For the music director, a well-written song^[b] by the Korahites.

Psalm 43^[a]