8:32a

In 8:32a Luke gave the background information that a herd of pigs was grazing nearby. In some languages there may be a special way to introduce the pigs into the story and to indicate that they were already grazing nearby. Use a natural way in your language to introduce this important background information.

There on the hillside: Matthew 8:30 says the herd of pigs were “some distance away.” So they were not on or near the lakeshore where Jesus and the man with the demons were. However, Jesus and the man could see them from the lakeshore. Because this is the first time that hills or the hillside have been mentioned, you may want to say something like:

On a hillside not far away
-or-
On a nearby hillside

a large herd of pigs: The phrase a large herd of pigs refers to a large group of pigs. The number of pigs is given in Mark 5:13 as “about two thousand.”

pigs: The animals known as pigs are also called “hogs” or “swine” in English. These were domestic pigs, not wild pigs. Jews considered pigs to be ritually unclean, and they did not eat their meat. If you do not raise pigs in your area and you do not have a word in your language for them, here are possible ways to translate pigs:

• Use a general expression for farm animals. For example:

livestock
-or-
domestic animals

• Use a general expression along with the word for pigs from another language. For example:

farm animals called “pigs”

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

farm animals that are ritually unclean

You may also want to have a picture of pigs in your translation.

was feeding: The word feeding indicates that the pigs were eating whatever food they could find on the hillside. If your language has a specific word that describes the way pigs eat, you should use that here. For example:

grazing
-or-
rooting
-or-
foraging

8:32b

So: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Several English versions, such as the English Standard Version, NET Bible, and New Living Translation (2004), translate it that way. Other versions, such as the New International Version, do not translate this conjunction. But since the demons’ request was a result of the herd of pigs being nearby, the Berean Standard Bible translates this conjunction as So. Some other English versions (Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, New King James Version) also translate it as “so.” Connect 4:4a to 4:3b in a way that is natural in your language.

the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs: The phrase to let them enter the pigs is a request that Jesus would allow the demons to control the pigs as they had controlled the man. The demons were not implying that they preferred the pigs to the man. They were implying that if they were forced to leave the man, they wanted to enter the pigs.

In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

that ⌊if he would not allow them to stay in the man,⌋ he would allow them to go into the pigs ⌊instead⌋

In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech in this context. For example:

…begged Jesus, “Let us enter into the pigs.”
-or-
…begged Jesus, “Send us into the pigs.” (See Mark 5:12)
-or-
…said to Jesus, “⌊Please⌋ allow us to go into the pigs ⌊over there,⌋ ⌊if we cannot stay in this man⌋.”

begged: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as begged means to “plead for” something. This verb was also used in 8:31, and you can translate it in a similar way here. However, the verb form does not indicate repeated action here, as it did in 8:31.

to let them enter the pigs: The demons asked Jesus to allow them to control (possess) the pigs. In some languages it may not be natural to use the same expression to describe an unclean spirit controlling both animals and people. Use a natural expression in your language. For example:

go/be upon them
-or-
go behind them
-or-
fasten upon them

8:32c

and: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Most English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, translate it that way. However, since in 8:32c Jesus responded to what the unclean spirits requested in 8:32b, some English versions (English Standard Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004)) introduce the request with the connector “so.” Connect 8:32c to 8:32b in a way that is natural in your language for this context.

He gave them permission: Jesus gave the demons permission to go to the pigs and control them. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit what permission Jesus gave the demons:

he gave them permission ⌊to do that⌋
-or-
he said that they might ⌊enter them⌋

If your language prefers direct speech in this context, you may use it here. (See Matthew 8:32.) For example:

So he said to them, “You may.”
-or-
He said to them, “Go.”

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