Matthew 8:29-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 8:29 tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
2. Matthew 8:29 tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti hēmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”
3. Matthew 8:29 sn The question reflects the view that there was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.
4. Matthew 8:30 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5. Matthew 8:30 sn The commercial raising of pigs indicates that this is not Jewish territory (cf. m. B. Qam. 7:7, “They do not rear pigs anywhere”).
6. Matthew 8:31 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
7. Matthew 8:31 sn No explanation is given in the text for the relationship between the demons and the herd of pigs. Some have suggested a link between the uncleanness of demons and the ceremonial uncleanness of pigs within Judaism. Less likely is the suggestion that pigs as sacrificial animals in the non-Jewish world somehow alludes to worship of demons.