Luke 15:16

15:16 He ¹  was longing to eat ²  the carob pods ³  the pigs were eating, but ⁴  no one gave him anything.

Luke 8:32-33

8:32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ⁵  and the demonic spirits ⁶  begged Jesus ⁷  to let them go into them. He gave them permission. ⁸  8:33 So ⁹  the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs ¹⁰  rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned.

Luke 15:15

15:15 So he went and worked for ¹¹  one of the citizens of that country, who ¹²  sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹³ 

[15:16]  ¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:16]  ² tn Or “would gladly have eaten”; Grk “was longing to be filled with.”

[15:16]  ³ tn This term refers to the edible pods from a carob tree (BDAG 540 s.v. κεράτιον). They were bean-like in nature and were commonly used for fattening pigs, although they were also used for food by poor people (L&N 3.46).

[15:16]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.

[8:32]  ⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ⁸ sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.

[8:33]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[8:33]  ¹⁰ tn The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.

[15:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “joined himself to” (in this case an idiom for beginning to work for someone).

[15:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and he.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) and the personal pronoun have been translated by a relative pronoun to improve the English style.

[15:15]  ¹⁵ sn To a Jew, being sent to the field to feed pigs would be an insult, since pigs were considered unclean animals (Lev 11:7).