Luke 8:29

For Jesus ¹  had started commanding ²  the evil ³  spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, so ⁴  he would be bound with chains and shackles ⁵  and kept under guard. But ⁶  he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted ⁷  places.) ⁸ 

Mr 5:3-5; Mr 5:8; Mr 9:20-26; Lu 9:39,42; Ac 19:12-16; 2Ti 2:25,26

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc ‡ Although the external evidence favors the aorist παρήγγειλεν (parhngeilen, “he commanded”; Ì⁷⁵ B Θ Ξ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 700 1241 1424 2542 pm), the internal evidence favors the imperfect παρήγγελλεν (parhngellen, here translated “he had started commanding”; א A C K L W Γ Δ 1 33 565 892 pm). The aorist is suspect because it can more easily be taken as a single command, and thus an immediate exorcism. The imperfect would most likely be ingressive (BDF §§328; 329; 331), suggesting that Jesus started to command the evil spirit to depart, and continued the command.

³ tn Grk “unclean.”

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so,” introducing a clause that gives the result of the man being seized by the demon.

⁵ tn Or “fetters”; these were chains for the feet.

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁷ tn Grk “into the deserts.” The plural use here has been translated as “deserted places,” that is, uninhabited areas.

⁸ sn This is a parenthetical, explanatory comment by the author.