Translation commentary on Luke 8:29

Exegesis:

parēggeilen gar tō pneumati tō akathartō ‘for he had commanded the unclean spirit,’ implying that this had preceded the cry of the possessed man. Nestle reads parēggellen (imperfect) and with that reading the clause means ‘for he was (already, i.e. while the man was approaching) commanding the unclean spirit.’ For paraggellō cf. on 5.14. The singular tō pneumati tō akathartō takes up the plural daimonia (cf. also daimonia polla ‘many demons’ in v. 30) because an unclean spirit is considered a plurality of spirits, or demons, cf. on 4.34.

pollois gar chronois sunērpakei auton ‘for on many occasions it had seized him,’ and this is what will happen when Jesus commands the unclean spirit to go out. gar indicates that this clause is also part of the explanation of the man’s fear in the preceding clause. For pollois chronois cf. on v. 27.

sunarpazō ‘to seize by violence.’

kai edesmeueto halusesin kai pedais phulassomenos ‘and then he was bound with chains and fetters being watched,’ iterative imperfect. The participle phulassomenos may either refer to an independent event (Revised Standard Version) or indicate the intention with which he was bound (cf. New English Bible “for safety’s sake”); the latter is preferable.

desmeuō ‘to bind.’

halusis ‘chain.’

pedē ‘fetter,’ ‘shackle.’

diarrēssōn ta desma ēlauneto hupo tou daimoniou eis tas erēmous ‘snapping his bonds he was driven by the demon to the desert.’ For diarrēssō cf. on 5.6. For eis tas erēmous cf. on 1.80.

desmos (also 13.16, with plural desma in the neuter) ‘bond.’ As compared with halusis and pedē it is more general and comprehensive.

elaunō ‘to drive.’

Translation:

For, or, to clarify the connexion with what precedes, ‘he said so, because…’ (cf. Good News Translation, Balinese), ‘the reason (why he did) so was because’ (Bahasa Indonesia KB).

He, i.e. Jesus, usually has to be specified.

For the unclean spirit see 4.33, 36; for come out see 4.35.

(For many a time … into the desert) interrupts the narrative. It may have to be marked as such by the following linguistic means, (1) a tense form referring to what had been happening, or used to happen, in the past, as e.g. in Ekari, Kele, Marathi, or markers with similar meaning such as, ‘usually/used to,’ ‘often’ (Sinhala), ‘formerly’ (Cuyono), ‘already how many times now’ (Tboli), ‘for a long time already’ (Tzeltal); (2) a more explicit introduction of the sentence, e.g. ‘now the fact was that…’ (cf. Zürcher Bibel), ‘it-should-be-known’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC); or a combination of these means, cf. e.g. ‘as to the demon, often already…’ (Balinese).

It had seized him, or, ‘it had taken possession of him,’ see on 4.33.

He was kept under guard, preferably, ‘in order to keep him under guard’ (cf. Exegesis). The verb has also been rendered “to keep prisoner” (Good News Translation), ‘to detain’ (Willibrord), ‘to keep him in the eye’ (Sranan Tongo).

Bound with chains and fetters, or, ‘he was chained and fettered’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘he was chained and put-in-the-stocks’ (Batak Toba), or, since a reference to hands and feet is implied, ‘his hands and feet were chained and fettered’ (Balinese), ‘bound by metal on hands and feet’ (Kekchi), ‘people had bound his-hands and his-feet’ (Tae’). In Wantoat “chains” has to be rendered ‘vines,’ the normal binding material.

And was driven by the demon, or ‘and then the demon chased-away, or, led-away (the term used also of a thief that is run in) him, or, ran-away-with him’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia; Javanese; Balinese).

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 8:29

8:29a

For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man: This verse describes what happened just before the man’s plea in 8:28. It explains the reason why the demons begged Jesus not to trouble or torment them. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this by using the connector For and the verb form had commanded. Use a natural way in your language to indicate that 8:29 explains what happened in 8:28. Other ways to do this in English are:

He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man just before this.

See also the General Comment on 8:28a–29a below for a suggested way to reorder these verses.

In some languages, it may be more natural to give Jesus’ command in direct speech. For example:

Jesus told/commanded the evil spirit: “Come out of the man!”

unclean spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as unclean spirit is another way to describe a demon like those mentioned in 8:27b. Luke used the terms “demon,” “evil spirit” and “unclean spirit” to refer to the same beings. See the note on “a demon-possessed man” in 8:27b and the note on “the spirit of an unclean demon” at 4:33a.

Luke used the singular word for spirit here. In 8:27 the plural form was used, indicating that more than one unclean spirit was in the man. The unclean spirit here in 8:29 may have been the leader of the other demons or he may have represented them as the spokesman. It is good to use a singular form here. However, if this would not be natural in your language, you may consider using the plural form.

See demon in the Glossary for more information.

come out: When a demon controlled a person, the Jews thought of the demon as being in the person. So Jesus commanded the demon to come out. You may have a different expression that you naturally use to describe when a demon releases control of a person. Some other ways you could say this are:

Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to leave the man.
-or-
Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to release control of the man.

See how you translated similar expressions at 4:35a, 4:41a, and 8:2b.

General Comment on 8:28a–29a

In many languages, it is more natural to follow chronological order here. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to reorder the information in these verses. Here is one example:

28aWhen he saw Jesus, he screamed, ⌊came to him,⌋ and bowed down in front of him. 29aJesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. 28bThe man shouted very loudly, 28c“What connection do you and I have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Greatest God? 28dI beg you not to punish me!”

8:29b–e

In 8:29b–e Luke gave some background information. He described events that had happened at a time before Jesus met the man who was controlled by the demons. Many languages will have a way to indicate that these actions happened before the actions of this story. Some examples are:

• Use specific verb forms or other forms to indicate this. For example:

The evil spirit had controlled the man for a long time. People had kept him under guard. (God’s Word)

• State explicitly that 8:29b–e describes something that happened in the past. For example:

For many times in the past, the demon had seized him…

See the General Comment on 8:27–29 at the end of the notes on 8:29e for a suggestion about how to reorder these verses.

8:29b

Many times: Many times here means “on many previous occasions.”

it had seized him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as it had seized him means that the demon had taken control of the man. It implies that it took control violently.

8:29c

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and connects 8:29b to 8:29c. It introduces what people did to the man after and as a result of the demons seizing him. See the note on this connection in the General Comment on 8:29c–d at the end of the notes on 8:29d.

he was bound with chains and shackles: In this context, the word chains refers to metal chains that were placed on a person’s wrists to restrain his arms. The word shackles describes metal shackles or manacles that were placed around a person’s ankles and then chained together.

Other ways to translate this are:

he was chained hand and foot (New International Version)
-or-
his wrists and his feet were put in chains

he was bound with chains and shackles: This clause is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to make it active and supply a general subject such as “people” or “men.” For example:

men had bound him with chains around his arms and shackles on his feet
-or-
people had tied his arms with chains and put his feet in shackles

The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bound with…shackles also indicates that men had guarded the man so that he would not escape and hurt someone. The text does not say who had guarded him. If you must say who had guarded the man, try to use a general word such as “men” or “guards.” Here are some ways to express this idea:

he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard (New International Version)
-or-

he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet tied with chains (Good News Translation)

8:29d

See General Comment on 8:29c–d below for suggestions on how to translate this connection.

he had broken the chains: The action had broken the chains is something that happened several times. Each time the man had been bound, the demons caused him to be so strong that he was able to break the chains.

the chains: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as chains means “bonds.” It refers here to something that is used to bind or restrain a person. It is a general word that includes both the chains that bound the man’s hands and the shackles around his feet. The Greek text literally says “the bonds.” Refer to these bonds in a clear and natural way in your language.

General Comment on 8:29c–d

In Greek, 8:29d is introduced by the conjunction that is often translated as “and” in English:

he had been chained…and he had broken the chains

However, there is a contrast between 8:29c and 8:29d. People wanted and expected the man to remain bound. Instead he broke the bonds. Some ways to express this contrast in English are:

although he had been chained…he had broken the chains
-or-
he had been chained…but he had broken the chains

Connect 8:29c to 8:29d in a way that is natural in your language.

8:29e

been driven by the demon into solitary places: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as been driven by the demon into solitary places means that the demon had forced the man to go and stay in wild, deserted places.

demon: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as demon is the singular form of the same word as in 8:27b.

solitary places: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as solitary places can also be translated as “desert” or “wilderness.” It refers to wild or desolate areas where few people lived. In this context the land was suitable for grazing pigs. See how you translated the same Greek word at 1:80b, 3:2b, 4:1b, 5:16, and 7:24b.

General Comment on 8:27–29

In many languages, it is more natural to follow chronological order here or to put background information before the events of the story. In these languages, it may be necessary to reorder the information in these verses. Here is one example:

27bThere was a man there who was ⌊formerly⌋ from the city and who was controlled by demons. 29bMany times the demon had violently taken control of him, 29cso people had bound him with chains and foot-shackles and guarded him. 29dBut he had broken the chains and shackles 29eand the demon made him go into the wilderness. 27eThere he lived in burial caves. 27dHe had not lived in a house, 27cor worn clothes for a long time. 28aWhen he saw Jesus, he screamed, 27acame to him, 28aand bowed down in front of him. 29aJesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. 28bThen the man shouted very loudly, 28c“What connection do you and I have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Greatest God? 28dI beg you not to punish me!”

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