Luke 8:38-39

8:38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go ¹  with him, but Jesus ²  sent him away, saying, 8:39 “Return to your home, ³  and declare ⁴  what God has done for you.” ⁵  So ⁶  he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town ⁷  what Jesus ⁸  had done for him.

¹ tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “your house.”

⁴ tn Or “describe.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response to Jesus’ instructions.

⁷ tn Or “city.”

⁸ 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.