Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. He allowed them.
- KJV And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
- BSB There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.
- NASB Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission.
- NLT There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The demons ask to enter a nearby herd of pigs, and Jesus permits them. He remains fully in control of where they go.
Overview
Granted Jesus' permission, the demons seek refuge in a herd of swine feeding nearby. The episode shows that demons can do nothing without divine allowance. Jesus' sovereign permission sets up a visible demonstration of the man's complete deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 65:4who sit among the graves, and spend nights in secret places; who eat pig’s meat, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
- Isa 66:3He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig’s blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
- 1 Kgs 22:22Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go out and do so.’
- Job 1:10Haven’t you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
- Mark 5:11–13Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding.
- Lev 11:7The pig, because he has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn’t chew the cud, he is unclean to you.
- Job 1:12Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.
- John 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”
- Matt 8:30–33Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.
- Job 2:6Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
- Ps 62:11God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.
- Rev 20:7And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
- 1 Jn 4:4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 8:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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