Luke 8:30-33

8:30 Jesus then ¹  asked him, “What is your name?” He ²  said, “Legion,” ³  because many demons had entered him. 8:31 And they began to beg ⁴  him not to order ⁵  them to depart into the abyss. ⁶  8:32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ⁷  and the demonic spirits ⁸  begged Jesus ⁹  to let them go into them. He gave them permission. ¹⁰  8:33 So ¹¹  the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs ¹²  rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned.

[8:30]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:30]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn One could also translate the imperfect tense here with a repetitive force like “begged him repeatedly.”

[8:31]  ⁵ tn Or “command.”

[8:31]  ⁶ 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).

[8:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.

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

[8:32]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[8:33]  ¹² tn The words “of pigs” are supplied because of the following verb in English, “were drowned,” which is plural.