And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them.
- BSB In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding.
- NKJV Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.
- NASB Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them.
- NLT There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance.
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
Matthew notes a large herd of pigs feeding nearby. The detail, in Gentile territory, sets up the demons' request and their destruction.
Overview
The presence of pigs marks this as Gentile land, since swine were unclean to Jews. The herd becomes the object of the demons' plea and the visible evidence of their malice. The simple observation prepares for the dramatic demonstration of how thoroughly Jesus subdues the forces that destroy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 11:7And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
- 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.
- Mark 5:11Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
- Isa 65:3–4A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
- 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.
- 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.
- Luke 15:15–16And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 8:30 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.