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. ¹ 

Matthew 8:18

Challenging Professed Followers

8:18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd ²  around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake. ³ 

Matthew 8:23

Stilling of a Storm

8:23 As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ⁴ 

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 ⁵  all the people of the Gerasenes ⁶  and the surrounding region ⁷  asked Jesus ⁸  to leave them alone, ⁹  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.”

¹ 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”).

² 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 ˹ 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 ˹³ 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.”

³ tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.

⁴ sn A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁶ tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.

⁷ 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.”

⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ 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.