Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding.
- BSB There on the nearby hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding.
- NKJV Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
- NASB Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding nearby on the mountain.
- NLT There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby.
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
A large herd of pigs was feeding nearby on the mountainside.
Overview
Mark notes the herd of pigs, fitting the Gentile setting where such animals were raised. Their presence becomes the means by which the reality of the deliverance is publicly demonstrated. The detail prepares for the dramatic outcome that follows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 11:7–8And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
- Isa 65:4Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
- Isa 66:3He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
- Deut 14:8And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
- Luke 8:32And 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.
- Matt 8:30And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 5:11 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.