12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His 3 disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat 4 and eat them.
12:43 “When 5 an unclean spirit 6 goes out of a person, 7 it passes through waterless places 8 looking for rest but 9 does not find it.
1 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.
2 sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.
3 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
4 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
5 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
6 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
7 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.
8 sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
10 tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.