Luke 8

Soon after this, Jesus traveled through every city and village, preaching and announcing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve disciples were with him.

1And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Note"The kingdom of God" renders a phrase meaning God's rule or reign as king, an active exercise of authority, rather than a territory with borders. "The twelve" is Luke's shorthand for the twelve men Jesus had chosen as his closest followers, listed in chapter 6.

2Some women were with him too. They had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. Among them was Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom seven demons had gone.

2And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

NoteWhere the King James says "devils" here and through the rest of the chapter, the Greek word is daimonion, a lesser spirit. It is a different word from the one translated "the devil" in verse 12. Magdalene is not a family name but a place name: she came from Magdala, a town on the western shore of the lake.

3There was also Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who managed Herod's household, and Susanna, and many others. These women used their own money and property to support Jesus and his group.

3And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

NoteA "steward" was the manager of a great household and its money, a post of real rank. This Herod is Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee under Rome, so Joanna came from the ruler's own court. "Of their substance" uses "substance" in its older sense of property and wealth.

4A large crowd gathered, with people coming to him from town after town. He told them this story with a meaning in it:

4And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

NoteA parable is a comparison drawn from ordinary life and told to make a point. The Greek word covers everything from a one line proverb to an extended story like this one.

5"A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it, some fell along the path. It was stepped on, and the birds ate it up.

5A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

NoteSeed was scattered by hand across the whole field and often plowed in afterward, so some of it inevitably landed on the footpaths that ran through and between fields, where the ground was beaten hard by traffic.

6Some fell on rocky ground. It came up, then dried out and died, because it had no moisture.

6And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

NoteMuch of Galilee has a shelf of limestone lying just under a thin skin of soil. Seed there sprouts quickly because shallow ground warms fast, but the roots cannot reach down to water.

7Some fell among thorn plants. The thorns grew up with it and choked it.

7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

NoteThorn bushes cut back at the surface leave living roots below, which send up new growth alongside the sown crop and take the light and water.

8And some fell on good soil. It came up and produced a crop a hundred times what was planted." When he had said this, he called out, "Anyone who has ears to hear should listen."

8And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

NoteA hundred times the seed sown is an extraordinary return. Ordinary yields in this farming were a few times the seed, so the figure marks the harvest as far beyond what a farmer would expect.

9His disciples asked him what this story meant.

9And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

10He said, "You have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others I speak in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not understand.

10And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Note"Mysteries" does not mean puzzles. The Greek word means something previously hidden that is now being disclosed, and disclosed to a particular group. The words "seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand" quote Isaiah 6:9, spoken when Isaiah was sent to a people who would not listen.

11Now here is what the story means. The seed is the word of God.

11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12The seed along the path stands for people who hear. Then the devil comes and takes the word out of their hearts, so they will not believe and be saved.

12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

13The seed on the rock stands for people who hear the word and receive it with joy. But they have no root. They believe for a while, and when the testing comes, they fall away.

13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Note"Temptation" in the King James covers any kind of testing or trial, including hardship and pressure from outside, not only enticement to do wrong.

14The seed that fell among the thorns stands for people who hear, but as they go on with life, they are choked by its worries, riches, and pleasures. Their fruit never ripens.

14And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Note"Bring no fruit to perfection" uses "perfection" in its older sense of completion or ripening. The plants grow, but the grain never fills out and there is nothing to harvest.

15But the seed on the good soil stands for people who hear the word with an honest and good heart. They hold on to it, and by keeping at it they produce a crop.

15But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Note"Patience" in 1611 meant steady endurance under pressure over a long stretch of time, not an even temper.

16"No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. He sets it on a stand, so that people who come in can see the light.

16No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

NoteThere are no candles in this scene. The King James "candle" and "candlestick" stand for a small clay oil lamp, which burned olive oil through a wick, and the stand it was set on. One lamp gave about as much light as a single flame, so where it sat in a one room house mattered.

17Nothing is secret that will not be brought out into the open. Nothing is hidden that will not be made known and brought to light.

17For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

18So pay attention to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more. Whoever does not have will lose even what he thinks he has."

18Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

19Then Jesus' mother and brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.

19Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

Note"Brethren" simply means brothers. Whether these were later sons of Mary, sons of Joseph from an earlier marriage, or more distant kin has been argued since ancient times, and the Greek word by itself does not settle it. "The press" means the crush of the crowd.

20Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to see you."

20And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.

21He answered them, "My mother and my brothers are the people who hear the word of God and do it."

21And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

22One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake." So they set out.

22Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

NoteThe "lake" is the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake roughly thirteen miles long and seven across, lying about seven hundred feet below sea level. Several of the disciples had made their living fishing on it.

23As they sailed, he fell asleep. A windstorm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.

23But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

NoteCold air funneling down the ravines onto the warm surface of a lake set that far below sea level produces violent squalls with very little warning. The boats were open, and swamping was a real danger.

24They came and woke him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are about to die!" He got up and ordered the wind and the rough water to stop. They died down, and everything was calm.

24And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.

Note"Master" here translates a word meaning commander or the person in charge, not teacher. Luke uses it when the disciples want Jesus to act. A different word, meaning teacher, appears in verse 49.

25He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were frightened and amazed, and said to one another, "What kind of man is this? He gives orders even to the winds and the water, and they obey him."

25And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

26They landed in the region of the Gadarenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.

26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.

NoteThe manuscripts differ between Gadarenes, Gerasenes and Gergesenes, and modern translations divide accordingly. Gadara and Gerasa were both cities in the largely non Jewish territory east of the lake. "Over against" means opposite, on the far shore.

27When Jesus stepped ashore, a man from the town met him. For a long time this man had demons in him. He wore no clothes and did not live in a house, but among the tombs.

27And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

NoteTombs in this region were commonly caves or chambers cut into rock, big enough to shelter in. For a Jew, contact with a tomb or a corpse made a person ritually unclean, so a man living among them was cut off from ordinary community life altogether.

28When he saw Jesus, he shouted and fell down in front of him. In a loud voice he said, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"

28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.

Note"What have I to do with thee" is a fixed idiom in Hebrew and Greek, found several times in the Old Testament. It means roughly "what business is there between you and me?" and it is a demand to be left alone. "God most high" renders a title for God used widely by non Jews as well as Jews.

29Jesus had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times the spirit had seized him. He was guarded and tied with chains and iron cuffs, but he broke them, and the demon drove him out into empty country.

29(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

Note"Fetters" are shackles for the ankles, as the chains here are for the wrists. "Driven of the devil" uses "of" in its older sense of "by."

30Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," because many demons had gone into him.

30And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

NoteA legion was the largest unit of the Roman army, nominally five to six thousand soldiers. The answer gives both a number and the picture of an occupying force.

31The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go away into the deep pit.

31And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

Note"The deep" translates abyssos, the abyss: a bottomless place, used in Jewish writing of this period for the place where rebellious spirits are confined.

32A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them.

32And 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.

NotePigs were unclean animals under Jewish law and were not raised by observant Jews, so a herd this size fits the largely non Jewish population on the eastern side of the lake.

33So the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

33Then 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.

34When the men who tended the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and told about it in the town and in the countryside.

34When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.

35So people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man the demons had left, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and thinking clearly. They were afraid.

35Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

NoteTo sit "at the feet" of someone was the ordinary posture of a student listening to a teacher.

36Those who had seen it told the others how the man who had been controlled by demons was healed.

36They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.

37Then all the people from the region around the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were gripped by great fear. So he got into the boat and went back.

37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

38The man the demons had left begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,

38Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,

39"Go back to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you." So the man went and told all over the town what great things Jesus had done for him.

39Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

40When Jesus came back, the crowd welcomed him gladly, because they had all been waiting for him.

40And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

41Just then a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house,

41And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:

NoteA "ruler of the synagogue" was the lay official who ran the local assembly: arranging who read and taught at the services, looking after the building, keeping order. It was a position of standing in the town, not a priesthood.

42because his only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went, the crowds pressed in around him.

42For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.

NoteThe Greek says she was his only child. Twelve was close to the age at which a girl could be betrothed.

43In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors, and no one could heal her.

43And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

NoteContinuous bleeding of this kind made a woman ritually unclean under the law in Leviticus 15, and whatever and whoever she touched became unclean as well. Twelve years of that meant twelve years shut out of normal contact, which is why she approaches from behind and says nothing. "Spent all her living" means she had spent everything she had to live on.

44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his coat. Right away her bleeding stopped.

44Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

NoteThe "border" of the garment is the tassel at the corner of a man's outer cloak. Israelite men were told in Numbers 15 to wear such tassels on the four corners of their clothing as a reminder of God's commands. "Stanched" simply means stopped.

45Jesus said, "Who touched me?" Everyone denied it. Peter and those with him said, "Master, the crowd is all around you and pressing against you, and you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

45And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

46But Jesus said, "Someone did touch me. I know that power has gone out of me."

46And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

Note"Virtue" in 1611 meant power or effective force, not moral goodness. The sentence says that power had gone out of him.

47When the woman saw that she could not stay hidden, she came trembling and fell down in front of him. In front of all the people she told why she had touched him, and how she was healed at once.

47And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48He said to her, "Daughter, take heart. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

48And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Note"Made thee whole" translates a verb that means both to heal and to rescue or save, and the same word carries both senses elsewhere in this chapter.

49While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's house and said to him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble the Teacher anymore."

49While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

NoteThis "Master" is a different Greek word from the one in verse 24. Here it means teacher.

50But when Jesus heard it, he answered the man, "Don't be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well."

50But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

51When he came to the house, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, James, and John, and the girl's father and mother.

51And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.

Note"Suffered no man" means allowed no one. "Suffer" in the King James regularly means permit, as it does in verse 32. "Maiden" means girl.

52Everyone was crying and mourning for her. But he said, "Stop crying. She is not dead, but asleep."

52And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

NoteMourning in this culture began the moment death occurred and was loud and public: wailing, beating the breast, and often people who came in specifically to lead the lament. The noise in the house is part of why the crowd is certain the girl is dead.

53They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead.

53And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

Note"Laughed him to scorn" is older English for ridiculed him, laughed him down.

54He put them all outside, took her by the hand, and called out, "Child, get up!"

54And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.

55Her spirit came back, and she stood up at once. He told them to give her something to eat.

55And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

Note"Meat" in the King James means food of any kind, not flesh in particular.

56Her parents were amazed, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

56And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.