Lukas 11:24

Response to Jesus’ Work

11:24 “When an unclean spirit ¹  goes out of a person, ²  it passes through waterless places ³  looking for rest but ⁴  not finding any. Then ⁵  it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ ⁶ 

Lukas 1:22

1:22 When ⁷  he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They ⁸  realized that he had seen a vision ⁹  in the holy place, ¹⁰  because ¹¹  he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak. ¹² 

Lukas 8:37

8:37 Then ¹³  all the people of the Gerasenes ¹⁴  and the surrounding region ¹⁵  asked Jesus ¹⁶  to leave them alone, ¹⁷  for they were seized with great fear. ¹⁸  So ¹⁹  he got into the boat and left. ²⁰ 

[11:24]  ¹ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

[11:24]  ² tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

[11:24]  ³ 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).

[11:24]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[11:24]  ⁵ tc ‡ Most mss, including a few early and important ones (Ì⁴⁵ א* A C D W Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat), lack τότε (tote, “then”). Other mss, including some early and important ones (Ì⁷⁵ א² B L Θ Ξ 070 33 579 892 1241 pc co), have the adverb. Although the external evidence better supports the longer reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the shorter, for conjunctions and adverbs were frequently added by copyists to remove asyndeton and to add clarification. The shorter reading is thus preferred. The translation, however, adds “Then” because of English stylistic requirements. NA²⁷ has τότε in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[11:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “I will return to my house from which I came.”

[1:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “and they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:22]  ⁹ tn That is, “he had had a supernatural encounter in the holy place,” since the angel came to Zechariah by the altar. This was not just a “mental experience.”

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “temple.” See the note on the phrase “the holy place” in v. 9.

[1:22]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and,” but the force is causal or explanatory in context.

[1:22]  ¹² tn Grk “dumb,” but this could be understood to mean “stupid” in contemporary English, whereas the point is that he was speechless.

[8:37]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:37]  ¹⁴ tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.

[8:37]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes,” but according to L&N 1.80, “περίχωρος may include not only the surrounding region but also the point of reference, for example…‘the Gerasenes and the people living around them’ Lk 8:37.”

[8:37]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:37]  ¹⁷ tn Or “to depart from them.”

[8:37]  ¹⁸ sn Again there is great fear at God’s activity, but there is a different reaction. Some people want nothing to do with God’s presence. Mark 5:16 hints that economic reasons motivated their request.

[8:37]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ departure was the result of the Gerasenes’ response. A new sentence was started in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.

[8:37]  ²⁰ tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.