Luke 8:29

For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator explains that Jesus had previously commanded an unclean spirit to leave a man who now falls before Him begging not to be tortured. This occurs at the initial confrontation between Jesus and the demon-possessed individual in the Decapolis region.

The words — παρήγγειλεν (parēngeilen) literally means "He was commanding," and ἀκαθαρτῷ (akathartō) translates to "unclean." These terms record the authoritative nature of Jesus' prior directive and the defiled condition of the opposing spirit.

The thread — Jesus' prior command to an unclean spirit to depart is recorded in Mark 5:8, while the man's unrestrained state despite chains parallels Mark 5:3. The violent physical reaction of a demon upon encountering Jesus also appears in Mark 9:20.

Why it lands — The text establishes that human restraints cannot contain hostile spiritual forces, but a single divine command can override them. It requires the reader to acknowledge Jesus' absolute authority over demonic powers without minimizing the man's prior suffering.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

(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.)

Cross-references

Mark 5:3 This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.
Mark 5:8 For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”
Mark 9:20 So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Luke 9:39 A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.
Luke 9:42 Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Acts 19:12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.
2 Timothy 2:25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.