At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea.
Parallel Translations
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At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea.
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And anone Iesus gave them leave. And the vnclene spretes wet out and entred into the swyne. And the heerd starteled and ran hedling into the see. They were about.ii.M. swyne and they were drouned in the see.
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And incontinently Iesus gaue them leaue. Then the vncleane spirites went out, and entred into the swine, and the heard ranne headlong from the high banke into the sea, (and there were about two thousand swine) and they were choked vp in the sea.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Mark 5:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 22:22 Yahweh 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 2:6 Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
- Matthew 8:32 He said to them, “Go!” They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.
- John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
- 1 Peter 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
- Job 1:12 Yahweh 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.
- Revelation 9:11 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 13:5-7 A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him. He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven. It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.
- Revelation 20:7 And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Strabo in the sixteenth book saith that in Gadaris…
Strabo in the sixteenth book saith that in Gadaris there is a standing pool of very naughty water, which if beasts taste of, they shed their hair, nails, or hooves and horns.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the…
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
Ver. 13. Jesus gave them leave] If Christ condescended to the devils, though to the loss of others, will he not hear us?
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Into the sea] So that standing pool in Gadaris is called, which, Strabo saith, is of such a foul nature, that if beasts taste of it, they shed their hair, nails, hoofs, or horns.
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 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave,.... For the reason…
And forthwith Jesus gave them leave,.... For the reason of this See Gill on Mat 8:32.
and the unclean spirits went out; of the man, in whom they had for some time dwelt:
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and entered into the herd of swine; according to the leave given them by Christ: this shows not only the existence of spirits, but their going from one to another shows that they are circumscribed by space; that they are here, and not there, or there, and not here: there is an "ubi", a somewhere, where they are; and whilst there, are not elsewhere:
and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. The Syriac and Arabic versions read, "the herd ran to the rock", or "promontory", and "fell into the sea". The Ethiopic, the "herd grew mad, and was carried headlong into the sea": the sense is, that the devils having entered into them, it had a like effect on them, as on the man possessed; they ran mad, and were hurried on by the devils, to the rocks on the sea shore; where, falling down the precipice, they were all lost; and a considerable loss it was to their owners; for
they were about two thousand; a very large herd, but there were devils enought in that one man, to possess all these, and run them into the sea:
and were choked in the sea; not suffocated by the devils, but drowned in the waters of the sea, or lake, as Luke calls it; the lake of Gennesareth, or sea of Tiberias and Galilee; which, as often observed, were the same. Though some think it was not this lake or sea, but some other place of water near Gadara. Strabo says (e), that in the country of Gadara, there was a very bad laky water, of which if cattle tasted, they cast their hair, hoofs, and horns; which perhaps may be the same with what the Talmudists call (f), , "the whirlpool of Gadara"; said to be from the time of the deluge, and so called from its swallowing up every thing that came into it; but the sea of Tiberias seems rather to be the place, where this herd perished. The Jew (g) objects to the destroying this herd of swine as an unjust action, being a great injury to the owners; and seeks to blacken the character of Christ, as being concerned in it: but, as Bishop Kidder (h) well observes, it does not appear that Jesus destroyed it; it was the devils that did it: he suffered them indeed to go into it, nor did he restrain the natural power which they had; nor did he think fit to do it, nor was he obliged to it: but had he destroyed it himself, since he is Lord of all, the proprietor of all creatures, who has all under him, and at his disposal, can give and take away as he pleases, no charge of evil and injustice can be brought against him: and this should be satisfactory to a Christian, who believes him to be God over all blessed for ever; though it will not be to a Jew: let it therefore be further observed, that the owners of these swine were either Jews or Gentiles; if they were Jews, and they brought up these swine in order to eat them themselves, to destroy them was a just punishment, for their violation of the law of God, Deu 14:8. And if they brought them up to sell to others, this was contrary to their own canons; See Gill on Mat 8:30, to the rules and customs of their own country, which were made as a fence to keep off from breaking the above law; and such a practice could only proceed from an avaricious disposition, of which this was a proper rebuke: or if they were Gentiles that were the owners of them, these were idolatrous persons, worshippers of devils; and it was but a righteous thing, to suffer the devils, whom they worshipped, to do this mischief to their property, to whom they devoted themselves soul and body; and a Jew cannot well find fault with this, who believes that idolaters cannot be punished too severely: add to this, what the above learned prelate observes; this practice of the Gentiles in breeding hogs, was a temptation to the Jews to follow the same business, and even to taste of the forbidden flesh; so that to use his words, it was in truth an act of grace and favour to the Jews, to remove from them so dangerous a snare, and so bad an example: and it may be added, by suffering the devils to go into the swine, several valuable ends were answered, infinitely preferable to the herd of swine; such as evincing the truth of the dispossession; showing the greatness of the mercy to the dispossessed; the power of Christ over the devils; and making for the spread of the fame of this miracle the more; as well as giving further proof of the malignity and mischievous disposition and actions of these evil spirits; by which the inhabitants of the adjacent places might learn, how hurtful they were to them, and what a blessing it was to be rid of them: and therefore ought to have been thankful to Christ for this dispossession, notwithstanding the loss of their swine; but such an effect it had not upon them, but the reverse, as the words following show.
(e) Geograph. 1. 6. (f) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 108. 1. (g) Jacob Aben Amram, port. ver. No. 1028. apud Kidder, Demonstr. of the Messiah, par. 3. p. 51. (h) Kidder ib. p. 52.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. Gave them leave.] For επετρεψεν, DH, three…
Verse 13. Gave them leave.] For επετρεψεν, DH, three others, and three copies of the Itala have επεμψεν, sent them.
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 Jesus Christ permitted the devil to destroy these swine,…
Jesus Christ permitted the devil to destroy these swine, that from their destruction, the men of that country might take the alarm, and be converted. (Ven. Bede)
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Gave them leave — That is, as before…
13. Gave them leave — That is, as before said, after dismissing them from the man, he did not hold any control over their course. If they were able, like their fellow devils, to make any other lodgment, that was not our Lord’s present business. They had full leave, for aught he had to do. At any rate, better they should possess a beast than a man. We say this, because many have accused our Lord of doing a harm by sending them into the swine, and so destroying life and property. Our Lord drove them from the man, and that is all he had to do with them. For their own subsequent course of mischief they alone were chargeable, as truly as Judas or the Pharisees who blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
Ran violently down — Devil upon brute! The ferment of the two combining natures produces madness. The swine ran into the sea and the devils went to their own place. This may have been the best way of driving him out of the human world to hell. And that is a second full answer to those who cavil, falsely as well as foolishly, that our Lord here destroyed the swineherd’s property. Surely our Lord is not responsible for the doings of the devils he expels from men.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. down a steep place] At Kerza or Gersa,…
13. down a steep place] At Kerza or Gersa, “where there is no precipice running sheer to the sea, but a narrow belt of beach, the bluff behind is so steep, and the shore so narrow, that a herd of swine rushing frantically down, must certainly have been overwhelmed in the sea before they could recover themselves.” Tristram’s Land of Israel p. 462.
the sea] This, as we have seen above (Mar_3:7), was one of the names, by which the Lake of Gennesaret was called.
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 (13) They were about two thousand.—The number, which is…
(13) They were about two thousand.—The number, which is peculiar to St. Mark, may be noted as another instance of his graphic accuracy in detail.
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 The unclean spirits came out, and entered into the…
The unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place (kata tou krhmnou) literally, down the steepinto the sea,... and were choked in the sea. By this Christ shows of how little worth are earthly possessions when set in the balance with the souls of men. The recovery of this demoniac was worth far more than the value of the two thousand swine.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 13. Ran … down a steep place. The declivity…
13. Ran … down a steep place. The declivity at the base of the mountain at Gersa is almost perpendicular.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.