Luke 8:12

8:12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹  comes and takes away the word ²  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ³  and be saved.

Luke 8:37

8:37 Then ⁴  all the people of the Gerasenes ⁵  and the surrounding region ⁶  asked Jesus ⁷  to leave them alone, ⁸  for they were seized with great fear. ⁹  So ¹⁰  he got into the boat and left. ¹¹ 

[8:12]  ¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[8:12]  ² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[8:12]  ³ tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.

[8:37]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:37]  ⁵ tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.

[8:37]  ⁶ 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.”

[8:37]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:37]  ⁸ tn Or “to depart from them.”

[8:37]  ⁹ 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.

[8:37]  ¹⁰ 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.

[8:37]  ¹¹ tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.