Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him.
They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
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Luke 8:30-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him.
They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss. 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. Then he allowed them. The demons came out of the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
Parallel Translations
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Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered into him.
They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.
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And Iesus axed him sayinge: what is thy name? And he sayde: Legion because many devyls were entred into him.
And they besought him that he wolde not commaunde the to goo out into the depe.
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Then Iesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? and he sayd, Legion, because many deuils were entred into him.
And they besought him, that he would not commaund them to goe out into the deepe.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (17)
- Matthew 26:53 (v30) Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
- Luke 8:2 (v30) and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;
- Matthew 8:29 (v30) Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
- Mark 16:9 (v30) Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
- Matthew 25:41 (v31) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
Show all 17 cross-references
- Mark 5:9 (v30) He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
- Job 1:11 (v31) But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.”
- Job 2:5 (v31) But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.”
- Luke 8:28 (v31) When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of…
- Philippians 2:10-11 (v31) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue…
- Revelation 9:1-2 (v31) The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. He…
- Revelation 9:11 (v31) They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.
- Revelation 11:7 (v31) When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
- Revelation 17:8 (v31) The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth…
- Revelation 19:20 (v31) The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the…
- Revelation 20:1-3 (v31) I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, the old serpent,…
- Revelation 20:14-15 (v31) Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy…
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
Ver. 30. And he said, Legion] We must be ready and well-appointed to resist; for the devil sets upon us not without military discipline and singular skill. Cataphractus incedit Satan, saith Luther. The devil marcheth well armed and in good array.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv30–31 And they besought him,.... That is, all the devils,…
And they besought him,.... That is, all the devils, the whole legion of them, entreated Jesus, under whose power, and at whose dispose they were:
that he would not command them to go out into the deep; meaning, not the deep waters of the sea, for thither they ran the swine at their own request; but the bottomless pit of hell, where others of these spirits lay in chains of darkness; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "into hell": they desired, that when they went out of this man, they might not be ordered thither, or remanded to their former prison; for they knew that if he gave the word of command, they must obey; but that they might be suffered to continue in that country, and range about on earth, or be any where, rather than in hell.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v31 The abyss - That is, the bottomless pit.
The abyss - That is, the bottomless pit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v31 Verse 31. And they besought him that he would…
Verse 31. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.] In the Chaldaic philosophy, mention is made of certain material demons, who are permitted to wander about on the earth, and are horribly afraid of being sent into abysses and subterranean places. Psellus says, De Daemonibus: "These material demons fearing to be sent into abysses, and standing in awe of the angels who send them thither, if even a man threaten to send them thither and pronounce the names of those angels whose office that is, it is inexpressible how much they will be affrighted and troubled. So great will their astonishment be, that they cannot discern the person that threatens them. And though it be some old woman or little old man that menaces them, yet so great is their fear that they depart as if the person who menaces had a power to kill them." See Stanley's Chaldaic Philosophy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v30 He did not put the question through ignorance of…
He did not put the question through ignorance of his name, but that his answer might shew forth the divine power in a more glorious manner; as also for our instruction, that knowing the great number of our invisible enemies, we might work out our salvation with fear and trembling, placing all our confidence in God. (Denis the Carthusian)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–31 30. What is thy name?] The question was no…
30. What is thy name?] The question was no doubt asked in mercy. Gently to ask a person’s name is often an effectual way to calm the agitations and fix the wavering thoughts of these sufferers.
And he said, Legion] A legion consisted of 6000 soldiers, and this man (who was probably a Jew) would have become familiar with the name since the Roman conquest of Palestine. The ancient Megiddo was now called Legio, still Ledjun. The answer shewed how wildly perturbed was the man’s spirit, and how complete was the duality of his consciousness. He could not distinguish between himself and the multitudes of demons by whom he believed himself to be possessed. His individuality was lost in demoniac hallucinations.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv30–31 (30) Legion.—Here again St. Mark and St. Luke agree.
(30) Legion.—Here again St. Mark and St. Luke agree.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv30–31 And Jesus asked him; saying, What is thy name?…
And Jesus asked him; saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him The Master vouchsafed no reply to the demons" prayer, but puts a quiet suggestive question to their unhappy victim. The Lord"s words, as Dean Plumptre suggests, would serve "to recall to the man"s mind that he had once a human name, with all its memories of human fellowship. It was a stage, even in spite of the paroxysm that followed, in the process of recovery, in so far as it helped to disentangle him from the confusion between himself and the demons which caused his misery. But, at first, the question seems only to increase the evil. "My name is Legion, for we are many." The irresistible might, the full array of the Roman legion, with its six thousand soldiers, seemed to the demoniac the one adequate symbol of the wild, uncontrollable impulses of passion and of dread that were sweeping through his soul."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v30 The healing:
The healing:
v. 30. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion; because many devils were entered into him.
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v. 31. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep.
v. 32. 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
v. 33. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
Since the man appeared to have a rational interval, Jesus asked him his name. The poor man being the victim, not only of one or of a few devils, answered accordingly that his name was Legion, thousands of demons having taken possession of him. But the devils were growing restive, knowing that their time for torturing this man was over. And so they pleaded with Christ not to commit them to the abyss, to the pit of hell. But there was a herd of many swine feeding on the side of the mountain, within easy distance of the place where Jesus had landed, and the devils eagerly begged Christ to permit them to enter into the dumb brutes. And when Jesus had given permission, the devils took possession of the swine. And the brutes, taken with a sudden spasm of fright, bolted down the precipice overhanging the lake, leaped down into the waves below, and were drowned, suffocation taking place in the water. Note: The devil is a murderer from the beginning. If he cannot destroy the souls of men, he tries to harm their bodies, and when this is denied him, he takes out his spite on the dumb animals. His one desire is to ruin the works of God. But he can do this only with God’s permission. It is indeed a secret of God why He gives this permission. But it may be said, in general, that even such visitations, by which the devil works harm against us, are fatherly visitations of God, by means of which He wants to chastise us and call us to repentance.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v30 Translate this with a word that refers to a…
Legion
Translate this with a word that refers to a large number of soldiers or people. Some other translations say "Army." AT: "Battalion" or "Brigade"
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kept begging him
"kept begging Jesus"
translationWords
Jesus
demon
abyss
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv30–31 8:30 A Roman legion had about 6,000 soldiers, so…
8:30 A Roman legion had about 6,000 soldiers, so this man had a great many demons.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.