ἐξελθόντι δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὑπήντησεν ἀνήρ τις ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἔχων δαιμόνια καὶ χρόνῳ ἱκανῷ οὐκ ἐνεδύσατο ἱμάτιον καὶ ἐν οἰκίᾳ οὐκ ἔμενεν ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς μνήμασιν.
27As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had not worn any clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
See also cloth and cloak / shawl.
“In Thai society, those who are possessed by evil spirits are usually the weak or mentally unstable. This man is shown as freed from his spiritual and physical chains. Even though he is naked Jesus is not ashamed to be close to him.”
Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.
For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 8:27:
The Greek that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “demon” is translated by other languages in the following ways:
In the still widely-used 1908 Tswana (also: Setswana) translation (by Robert Moffat, revised by Alfred Wookey), the term badino or “ancestor spirit” is used for “demon,” even though in the traditional understanding there is nothing inherently negative associated with that term. Musa Dube (in: Journal of Society of New Testament 73, 1999, p. 33ff. ) describes this as an example of “engaging in the colonization of the minds of natives and for advancing European imperial spaces. The death and burial of Setswana culture here was primarily championed through the colonization of their language such that it no longer served the interests of the original speakers. Instead the written form of language had equated their cultural beliefs with evil spirits, demons and wizardry. This colonization of Setswana was in itself the planting of a colonial cultural bomb, meant to clear the ground for the implantation of a worldwide Christian commonwealth and European consciousness. It was a minefield that marked Setswana cultural spaces as dangerous death zones, to be avoided by every intelligent Motswana reader or hearer of the translated text.”
In Kachin, the term Nat (or nat) us used for “demon” (as well as “devil” and “unclean/evil spirit“). Like in Tswana, the meaning of Nat is not inherently negative but can be positive in the traditional Nat worship as well. Naw Din Dumdaw (in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 94ff.) argues that “the demonization of Nat created a social conflict between Kachin Christians and Kachin non-Christians. Kachin converts began to perceive their fellow Kachins who were still worshipping Nats as demonic and they wanted to distance themselves from them. Likewise, the Nat-worshiping Kachin community perceived the Kachin converts as betrayers and enemies of their own cultural heritage. (…) The demonization of the word Nat was not only the demonization of the pre-Christian religion but also the demonization of the cultural heritage of the Kachin people. When the word Nat is perceived as demonic, it creates an existential dilemma for Kachin Christians. It distances them from their cultural traditions.”
Note that often the words for “demon” and “unclean spirit / evil spirit” are being used interchangeably.
See also devil and formal pronoun: demons or Satan addressing Jesus.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, aga-rare-ru (上がられる) or “go up” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Exegesis:
exelthonti de autō epi tēn gēn ‘and when he went ashore,’ participle in the dative, going with hupēntēsen ‘(a man) met him.’ Though the disciples who had come with Jesus are still with him exelthonti is in the singular and refers to Jesus alone.
hupēntēsen anēr tis ek tēs poleōs ‘a man from the town met (him).’ ek tēs poleōs goes with anēr, ‘a man from the town,’ i.e. in the light of the rest of the verse, a man who formerly used to live in the town.
hupantaō (also 14.31) ‘to (come and) meet,’ or, ‘to (come to) meet,’ with dative.
echōn daimonia lit. ‘having demons,’ i.e. ‘with demons,’ or, ‘possessed by demons.’
chronō hikanō ouk enedusato himation ‘for a long time he had worn no clothes.’ chronō hikanō is temporal dative answering the question ‘how long’ (here and v. 29).
enduō act. ‘to dress,’ mid. ‘to dress oneself,’ ‘to put on,’ ‘to wear.’
kai en oikia ouk emenen all’ en tois mnēmasin ‘and in a house he did not live but in/among the tombs.’ emenen is durative imperfect.
mnēma ‘grave,’ probably referring to caverns in the rocks.
Translation:
He stepped out on land. For disembarkation various idioms are used, cf. e.g. “he stepped/went ashore” (New English Bible/Translator’s New Testament), il mettait pied à terre (Bible de Jérusalem, similarly Shona 1966), ‘he ascended to land/shore’ (several Indonesian languages), ‘alighting on the ground’ (Marathi), ‘Jesus jumped down from up in the boat’ (Tboli), ‘he descended’ (Balinese).
There met him a man, or, ‘a man encountered him, or, came towards him’ (Batak Toba). Where the language distinguishes between meeting by accident and by design, the latter is to be chosen.
Who had demons, i.e. ‘who was demon possessed,’ cf. on 4.33. If the expression in question does not permit an indication of plurality, it will usually allow an indication of high degree.
Had worn no clothes, or, ‘had not been clothed,’ ‘was-naked’ (Balinese). For clothes or ‘clothing’ see on 7.25.
To live in a house, i.e. ‘to stay/dwell in a house.’
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.
8:27a
When Jesus stepped ashore: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus stepped ashore means that Jesus climbed out of the boat onto the land. Some languages may have a specific word for this action. For example:
disembarked (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
You could also simply say that Jesus “stepped/climbed/went out of the boat.”
When Jesus got out of the boat, his disciples probably also got out of it. The author does not mention the disciples here because Jesus is in focus.
However, in some languages not mentioning the disciples might imply that they stayed in the boat. If that is true in your language, here are some ways you could include them:
When Jesus ⌊along with the disciples⌋ stepped ashore…
-or-
When Jesus ⌊and the disciples⌋ stepped ashore…
8:27b
He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town: This clause describes:
(a) the problem that the man had;
(b) where he came from;
(c) that he came to meet Jesus.
Consider what would be a natural way in your language to introduce a new person in a story. Also consider what is a natural order to give the details about him and what he does. Some other ways to say this are:
There was a man there who was from the city and was demon-possessed. He came to meet Jesus.
-or-
a man of the city who had demons met him (New Revised Standard Version)
He was met by a…man: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He was met indicates here that the man came to the place where Jesus was. The verb can be used for many contexts, including when people meet to fight or oppose each other. The context implies that the evil spirit in the man was hostile toward Jesus. Your translation should not imply that the man wanted to introduce himself to Jesus or to greet him politely. It should also not imply that Jesus and the man had already decided to meet together. Some English versions simply say:
a man…came to Jesus (New Century Version)
-or-
a man…came towards him (New Jerusalem Bible)
a demon-possessed man: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a demon-possessed man is literally “a man…having demons.” It indicates that many demons controlled the man’s thoughts and actions. Such demons are also described by Greek terms that are literally “evil spirits” or “unclean spirits.” Some ways to translate the word “demons” are:
• Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are evil and can control people.
• Use a specific term in your language that refers to spirits that are able to do what is described in this context. Do not use a term that refers to spirits of dead people.
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
evil/bad spirits
-or-
unclean spirits
Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirits” does not imply that the spirits are literally dirty.
Some ways to translate a demon-possessed man are:
a man who was controlled by evil spirits
-or-
a man…who had demons (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
The man had demons in him. (Contemporary English Version)
Use an expression that is natural in your language to refer to demons controlling a person. See demon in the Glossary for more information.
from the town: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as from the town means that the man was formerly from the town of Gerasa. He used to live there, and his family probably still lived there. He himself no longer lived there. This does not mean that the man came from the town that day in order to meet Jesus.
8:27c–e
In 8:27c–e the text gives background information about the man whom Jesus met. It tells three things that had been true about his situation for a long time:
(a) He had not worn clothes for a long time;
(b) he had not lived in a house for a long time;
(c) he had lived in the tombs for a long time.
The facts in (b) and (c) contrast with each other. He did not live in a house but in the tombs. There are different ways to connect these facts and different orders in which to arrange them. For example:
For a long time he had been 27dhomeless 27cand naked, 27eliving in a cemetery outside the town. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
For a long time 27che had worn no clothes 27eand had lived in the burial caves, 27dnot in a house. (New Century Version)
The God’s Word expresses the fact that the man was demon-possessed as another part of the background information:
The man was possessed by demons and had not worn clothes for a long time. He would not stay in a house but lived in the tombs.
Express the background information in a natural way and order in your language.
in the tombs: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the tombs refers to places where people placed dead bodies. In that area, a tomb was either a cave or a small room cut out of a rock hillside. It may be helpful to say something like:
had lived in caves where dead bodies were put
The man probably actually lived in them, not just among them. In some languages it is not natural to say that someone lived in the place where dead people are buried or bones are kept. If this is true in your language, you may need to say that the man lived at that general place. For example:
among the tombs
-or-
at the cemetery
-or-
at a place where dead bodies are put
You may also want to consider using a footnote to explain the burial practices of the Jews and other peoples who lived nearby. For example:
It was customary for Jews and nearby peoples to put the dead in natural caves or caves that were cut into rock hillsides.
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