Luke 8:29-31

8:29 For Jesus ¹  had started commanding ²  the evil ³  spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so ⁴  he would be bound with chains and shackles ⁵  and kept under guard. But ⁶  he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted ⁷  places.) ⁸  8:30 Jesus then ⁹  asked him, “What is your name?” He ¹⁰  said, “Legion,” ¹¹  because many demons had entered him. 8:31 And they began to beg ¹²  him not to order ¹³  them to depart into the abyss. ¹⁴ 

[8:29]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ² tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 pm). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

[8:29]  ³ tn Grk “unclean.”

[8:29]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

[8:29]  ⁵ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

[8:29]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

[8:29]  ⁸ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.

[8:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to pick up the sequence of the narrative prior to the parenthetical note by the author.

[8:30]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:30]  ¹¹ sn The name Legion means “thousands,” a word taken from a Latin term for a large group of soldiers. The term not only suggests a multiple possession, but also adds a military feel to the account. This is a true battle.

[8:31]  ¹² tn One could also translate the imperfect tense here with a repetitive force like “begged him repeatedly.”

[8:31]  ¹³ tn Or “command.”

[8:31]  ¹⁴ tn This word, ἄβυσσος (abusso"), is a term for the place where the dead await the judgment. It also could hold hostile spirits according to Jewish belief (Jub. 5:6-7; 1 En. 10:4-6; 18:11-16).