5:11

This verse gives background information that there was a herd of pigs grazing nearby. The herd of pigs is important in the story because Jesus allowed the unclean spirits to leave the man and enter the pigs. In some languages there may be a special way to introduce them into the story and to indicate that they were already grazing nearby. For example:

Now there was a large herd of pigs…

Use a natural way in your language to introduce this important background information.

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 5:13 as “about two thousand.” In some languages, it may be more natural to include that information here. See the General Comment on 5:13c–d at the end of 5:13d.

pigs: Animals known as pigs are also called “swine” in English, as in the Revised Standard Version. These were domestic pigs. They were not wild pigs. Jews considered all pigs to be ritually unclean, and they did not eat their meat. If people in your area do not raise pigs or do not have a word 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 might also want to include a picture of pigs in your translation, as long as that would not be offensive to your readers.

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

on the nearby hillside: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as on the nearby hillside is literally “there toward the hill.” Matthew 8:30 says the herd of pigs were “some distance away.” So the herd was not on the lakeshore where Jesus and the man with the unclean spirit were. It was at a distance but close enough for Jesus and the man to see.

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