Exegesis
epetimēsen autō ho Iēsous ‘Jesus checked him.’ The meaning of epetimēsen is defined by the subsequent phimōthēti ‘be silent,’ which suggests a command.
epitimaō ‘to rebuke,’ ‘to reprove,’ here “to speak seriously in order to prevent an action or to bring one to an end”, hence ‘to check.’ This meaning also in vv. 39 and 41; 8.24; 9.42; 19.39, and probably also 9.21.
phimōthēti ‘be silent.’
exelthe ap’ autou ‘come out of him,’ not ‘get away from him’ as the preposition might seem to suggest. But Luke always has apo after exerchomai (cf. 5.8; 8.2, 29, 33, 35, 38; 9.5; 11.24).
kai ripsan auton to daimonion eis to meson exēlthen ap’ autou mēden blapsan auton ‘and having thrown him down in the midst the demon came out of him having done him no harm.’ The sentence consists of (1) a main clause to daimonion … exēlthen ap’ autou ‘the demon came out of him,’ and (2) a participial clause ripsan … meson ‘having thrown him in the midst,’ describing an event preceding that of the main clause, and (3) a participial clause mēden blapsan auton ‘having done him no harm,’ which qualifies the event of (2) with regard to its consequences for the possessed.
ripsan auton … eis to meson ‘having thrown him down in the middle.’ For eis to meson. The most natural explanation is that the man falls down where he stood in the middle of the people in such a way that it appears as if somebody throws him down. riptō also 17.2.
mēden blapsan auton ‘having done him no harm whatever,’ stronger than mē blapsan auton ‘having done him no harm.’
Translation:
Rebuked him, or, ‘the demon.’ In the gospel of Luke the Gr. verb epitimaō (with the exception of 9.21 always rendered by ‘to rebuke’ in Revised Standard Version) occurs with a non-personal object (for which see on 4.39; 8.24), or with a personal object, i.e. demons (4.35, 41; 9.42), human beings (9.55; 17.3; 18.15, 39; 19.39; 23.40). In the latter case the verb is variously expressed, cf. e.g. ‘to scold’ (Bahasa Indonesia; similarly Batak Toba in 9.55, lit. ‘to be hit with words by someone’), ‘to reprimand’ (Javanese, lit. ‘to-be-angry-towards’), ‘to threaten’ (Bible de Jérusalem; similarly Sranan Tongo, lit. ‘to peel one’s eyes,’ i.e. to open one’s eyes wide). Where, as in this case, the reference probably is to strict command rather than to censure it is preferable to use, ‘to check,’ ‘to bring to a stop,’ or making explicit the implied direct discourse, ‘to say, “Stop doing so (immediately)” ,’ which would result here in something like, ‘he said to him, “Immediately stop speaking and get out of him” .’
Come out of him. The term to be used here for the cessation of demon possession should be the normal counterpart of the idiom that expresses the being in or beginning of that state, for which see on v. 33 and references.
The subsequent clauses may better be co-ordinated, e.g. ‘then (or, on these words, or, when he heard this) the demon threw … and came….’
To throw down, or, ‘cause-to-fall’ (several Indonesian languages), ‘cause to collapse.’
In the midst may have to be specified, ‘in between the people’ (Willibrord, Pohnpeian), ‘in front of all’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘in the sight of all present.’
Having done him no harm, or, ‘injury.’ This fact was probably contrary to expectation; this will influence the choice of connective when the clause has to be co-ordinated, e.g. ‘but (he) did not hurt him at all.’
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.