Matthew 8:29

8:29 They ¹  cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! ²  Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ³ 

Deuteronomy 5:25

5:25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us! If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die!

Deuteronomy 5:1

The Opening Exhortation

5:1 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: ⁴  “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!

Deuteronomy 16:4

16:4 There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land ⁵  for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 16:1

The Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival

16:1 Observe the month Abib ⁷  and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month ⁸  he ⁹  brought you out of Egypt by night.

Deuteronomy 17:18

17:18 When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law ¹⁰  on a scroll ¹¹  given to him by the Levitical priests.

Deuteronomy 18:17

18:17 The Lord then said to me, “What they have said is good.

Job 21:14

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ¹²  know your ways. ¹³ 

Job 22:17

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁴ 

Mark 5:17-18

5:17 Then ¹⁵  they asked Jesus ¹⁶  to leave their region. 5:18 As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go ¹⁷  with him.

Luke 5:8

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ¹⁸  for I am a sinful man!” ¹⁹ 

Luke 8:28

8:28 When he saw ²⁰  Jesus, he cried out, fell ²¹  down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, ²²  Jesus, Son of the Most High ²³  God! I beg you, do not torment ²⁴  me!”

Luke 8:37-39

8:37 Then ²⁵  all the people of the Gerasenes ²⁶  and the surrounding region ²⁷  asked Jesus ²⁸  to leave them alone, ²⁹  for they were seized with great fear. ³⁰  So ³¹  he got into the boat and left. ³²  8:38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go ³³  with him, but Jesus ³⁴  sent him away, saying, 8:39 “Return to your home, ³⁵  and declare ³⁶  what God has done for you.” ³⁷  So ³⁸  he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town ³⁹  what Jesus ⁴⁰  had done for him.

Acts 16:39

16:39 and came ⁴¹  and apologized to them. After ⁴²  they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly ⁴³  to leave the city.

[8:29]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[8:29]  ² tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”

[8:29]  ³ sn There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Moses called to all Israel and he said to them”; NAB, NASB, NIV “Moses summoned (convened NRSV) all Israel.”

[16:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”

[16:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:1]  ⁷ sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.

[16:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[17:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzo’t) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.

[17:18]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.

[21:14]  ¹² tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ¹³ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[22:17]  ¹⁴ tn The form in the text is “to them.” The LXX and the Syriac versions have “to us.”

[5:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

[5:8]  ¹⁸ sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.

[5:8]  ¹⁹ sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.

[8:28]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “and fell,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:28]  ²² tn Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….”

[8:28]  ²³ sn On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.

[8:28]  ²⁴ sn The demons’ plea “do not torment me” is a recognition of Jesus’ inherent authority over evil forces. The request is that Jesus not bother them. There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[8:37]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

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

[8:37]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:37]  ²⁹ tn Or “to depart from them.”

[8:37]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.

[8:38]  ³³ tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

[8:38]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:39]  ³⁵ tn Grk “your house.”

[8:39]  ³⁶ tn Or “describe.”

[8:39]  ³⁷ sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what God has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 8:56; 9:21) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.

[8:39]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response to Jesus’ instructions.

[8:39]  ³⁹ tn Or “city.”

[8:39]  ⁴⁰ sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.

[16:39]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and coming, they apologized.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:39]  ⁴² tn Grk “and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[16:39]  ⁴³ tn The verb ἐρώτων (erwtwn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect; the English adverb “repeatedly” brings out the iterative force in the translation.