Section 8:28–34
Jesus commanded demons to leave two men
In this section Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee to a region called Gadara. In the region was a town of the same name. The town was about five miles southeast of Lake Galilee. But Jesus probably stayed close to the lake. The people of Gadara took care of pigs, so they were not Jews.
The demons that controlled the two men were strong and violent. But Jesus caused the demons to leave. So, this story shows that Jesus has more power than demons.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus healed two demon-possessed men
-or-
Two men whom demons controlled
-or-
Jesus had power to heal two demon-possessed men
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 5:1–20 and Luke 8:26–39.
Paragraph 8:28–31
8:28a
When Jesus arrived on the other side: This phrase refers to the other side of Lake Galilee. Jesus and his disciples finished their journey in the boat across the lake.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
After Jesus had crossed the lake (Contemporary English Version)
Jesus: It is also implied that Jesus arrived with his disciples. The focus is on Jesus here. But in some languages it is more natural to include the disciples. For example:
Jesus arrived ⌊with his disciples⌋
8:28b
in the region of the Gadarenes:
This phrase refers to the ground/land controlled by the people of the city of Gadara. The city of Gadara was probably small compared to cities of today, but was more important than the towns of that time. Use a word in your languages for a small city or large town.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
in the region of ⌊the city/town of⌋ Gadara
-or-
to the territory of Gadara (Good News Translation)
8:28c
He was met: The verb met probably means that the two men saw Jesus at a distance and then went to him. The verb met does not mean a planned meeting.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
came to him (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
went to him
-or-
approached him
two demon-possessed men: The word demon-possessed refers to people who are controlled by demons. This same word occurs in 8:16a. You should translate it here as you did there.
the tombs: The word tombs refer to caves or small rooms that were cut out of a rock hillside. These tombs were the cemetery where people buried dead people. The two men may have lived in one of the tombs.
In some languages the usual word for “tombs” is not a place where someone is able to live. If that is true in your language, you may want to describe the burial place here. For example:
burial caves
-or-
cemetery caves
8:28d
They were so violent that no one could pass that way: This is general information about the two men. It does not refer only to when Jesus arrived.
violent: This word refers to people who always want to fight and hurt others.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
fierce (English Standard Version)
-or-
dangerous (New Century Version)
no one could pass that way: This clause indicates that no one was able to walk anywhere near the tombs, because the two men would come and attack them.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
no one could go through that area (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
No one could travel along that road (God’s Word)
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