Exegesis:
parēggeilen gar tō pneumati tō akathartō ‘for he had commanded the unclean spirit,’ implying that this had preceded the cry of the possessed man. Nestle reads parēggellen (imperfect) and with that reading the clause means ‘for he was (already, i.e. while the man was approaching) commanding the unclean spirit.’ For paraggellō cf. on 5.14. The singular tō pneumati tō akathartō takes up the plural daimonia (cf. also daimonia polla ‘many demons’ in v. 30) because an unclean spirit is considered a plurality of spirits, or demons, cf. on 4.34.
pollois gar chronois sunērpakei auton ‘for on many occasions it had seized him,’ and this is what will happen when Jesus commands the unclean spirit to go out. gar indicates that this clause is also part of the explanation of the man’s fear in the preceding clause. For pollois chronois cf. on v. 27.
sunarpazō ‘to seize by violence.’
kai edesmeueto halusesin kai pedais phulassomenos ‘and then he was bound with chains and fetters being watched,’ iterative imperfect. The participle phulassomenos may either refer to an independent event (Revised Standard Version) or indicate the intention with which he was bound (cf. New English Bible “for safety’s sake”); the latter is preferable.
desmeuō ‘to bind.’
halusis ‘chain.’
pedē ‘fetter,’ ‘shackle.’
diarrēssōn ta desma ēlauneto hupo tou daimoniou eis tas erēmous ‘snapping his bonds he was driven by the demon to the desert.’ For diarrēssō cf. on 5.6. For eis tas erēmous cf. on 1.80.
desmos (also 13.16, with plural desma in the neuter) ‘bond.’ As compared with halusis and pedē it is more general and comprehensive.
elaunō ‘to drive.’
Translation:
For, or, to clarify the connexion with what precedes, ‘he said so, because…’ (cf. Good News Translation, Balinese), ‘the reason (why he did) so was because’ (Bahasa Indonesia KB).
He, i.e. Jesus, usually has to be specified.
For the unclean spirit see 4.33, 36; for come out see 4.35.
(For many a time … into the desert) interrupts the narrative. It may have to be marked as such by the following linguistic means, (1) a tense form referring to what had been happening, or used to happen, in the past, as e.g. in Ekari, Kele, Marathi, or markers with similar meaning such as, ‘usually/used to,’ ‘often’ (Sinhala), ‘formerly’ (Cuyono), ‘already how many times now’ (Tboli), ‘for a long time already’ (Tzeltal); (2) a more explicit introduction of the sentence, e.g. ‘now the fact was that…’ (cf. Zürcher Bibel), ‘it-should-be-known’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC); or a combination of these means, cf. e.g. ‘as to the demon, often already…’ (Balinese).
It had seized him, or, ‘it had taken possession of him,’ see on 4.33.
He was kept under guard, preferably, ‘in order to keep him under guard’ (cf. Exegesis). The verb has also been rendered “to keep prisoner” (Good News Translation), ‘to detain’ (Willibrord), ‘to keep him in the eye’ (Sranan Tongo).
Bound with chains and fetters, or, ‘he was chained and fettered’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘he was chained and put-in-the-stocks’ (Batak Toba), or, since a reference to hands and feet is implied, ‘his hands and feet were chained and fettered’ (Balinese), ‘bound by metal on hands and feet’ (Kekchi), ‘people had bound his-hands and his-feet’ (Tae’). In Wantoat “chains” has to be rendered ‘vines,’ the normal binding material.
And was driven by the demon, or ‘and then the demon chased-away, or, led-away (the term used also of a thief that is run in) him, or, ran-away-with him’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia; Javanese; Balinese).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.