Luke 8:28

8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, do not torment me!”

Luke 17:16

17:16 He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (Now he was a Samaritan.) 10 

Psalms 72:11

72:11 All kings will bow down to him;

all nations will serve him.

Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit 11  of Egypt and the revenue 12  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you 13  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. 14 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: 15 

‘Truly God is with 16  you; he has no peer; 17 

there is no other God!’”

Isaiah 46:6

46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse

and weigh out silver on the scale 18 

hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.

They then bow down and worship it.

Matthew 2:11

2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down 19  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, 20  and myrrh. 21 

Revelation 4:10

4:10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground 22  before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns 23  before his 24  throne, saying:

Revelation 5:8

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground 25  before the Lamb. Each 26  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). 27 

Revelation 22:8

22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, 28  and when I heard and saw them, 29  I threw myself down 30  to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me.


tn Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

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.

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….”

sn On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.

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.

tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

tn Grk “he fell on his face” (an idiom for complete prostration).

sn And thanked him. This action recognized God’s healing work through Jesus.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a parenthetical comment.

10 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The comment that the man was a Samaritan means that to most Jews of Jesus’ day he would have been despised as a half-breed and a heretic. The note adds a touch of irony to the account (v. 18).

11 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

12 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

13 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

14 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

15 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

16 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

17 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

18 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.

19 tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

20 sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

21 sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

22 tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

23 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.

24 tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (qronou).

25 tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

26 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

27 sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

28 tn Or “I am John, the one who heard and saw these things.”

29 tn The pronoun “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

30 tn Grk “I fell down and worshiped at the feet.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”