Matthew 7:6

7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.

Matthew 8:18

Challenging Professed Followers

8:18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.

Matthew 8:23

Stilling of a Storm

8:23 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

Mark 5:21

Restoration and Healing

5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in a boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea.

Luke 8:37

8:37 Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. 10  So 11  he got into the boat and left. 12 

Revelation 22:11

22:11 The evildoer must continue to do evil, 13  and the one who is morally filthy 14  must continue to be filthy. The 15  one who is righteous must continue to act righteously, and the one who is holy must continue to be holy.”


tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).

tc ‡ Codex B and some Sahidic mss read simply ὄχλον (oclon, “crowd”), the reading that NA27 follows; the first hand of א, as well as Ë1 and a few others, has ὄχλους (oclous, “crowds”); other witnesses read πολὺν ὄχλον (polun oclon, “a large crowd”). But the reading most likely to be original seems to be πολλούς ὄχλους (pollou" oclou"). It is found in א2 C L Θ 0233 Ë13 33 Ï lat; it is judged to be superior on internal grounds (the possibility of accidental omission of πολλούς/πολύν in isolated witnesses) and, to a lesser extent, external grounds (geographically widespread, various texttypes). For reasons of English style, however, this phrase has been translated as “a large crowd.”

tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.

sn A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.

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.”

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

tn Or “to depart from them.”

10 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.

11 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.

12 tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.

13 tn Grk “must do evil still.”

14 tn For this translation see L&N 88.258; the term refers to living in moral filth.

15 tn Grk “filthy, and the.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started in the translation.