Matthew 12:43

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

12:43 “When ¹  an unclean spirit ²  goes out of a person, ³  it passes through waterless places ⁴  looking for rest but ⁵  does not find it.

Matthew 14:13

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it, ⁶  they followed him on foot from the towns. ⁷ 

Matthew 14:35

14:35 When the people ⁸  there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him.

Matthew 24:15

The Abomination of Desolation

24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation ⁹  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Matthew 26:52

26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! ¹⁰  For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword.

[12:43]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:43]  ² sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

[12:43]  ³ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.

[12:43]  ⁴ sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).

[12:43]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[14:13]  ⁶ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[14:13]  ⁷ tn Or “cities.”

[14:35]  ¹¹ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).

[24:15]  ¹⁶ sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:14, 19, 24; Rev 3:10).

[26:52]  ²¹ tn The translation “put your sword back in its place” for this phrase is given in L&N 85.52.