Text -- Luke 8:29 (NET)

8:29 For Jesus had started commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so he would be bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard. But he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.)

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 8:29

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, 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 (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

³ tn Grk “unclean.”

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

⁵ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁷ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

⁸ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.