Bible Strands
Matthew 8:33
Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The pig farmers flee the immediate aftermath of Jesus commanding the demons to enter the herd and drown them. They run to the nearby town to report the exorcism and the destruction of the livestock.
The words — ἔφυγον (ephugon) means fled, and ἀπελθόντες (apelthontes) means having gone away. These aorist forms emphasize the sudden, decisive movement of the herdsmen toward the town.
The thread — The pattern of herdsmen fleeing to report a supernatural event appears in Mark 5:14 and Luke 8:34. These parallel accounts confirm the immediate spread of the news from the Decapolis region.
Why it lands — The text records a factual report that demands recognition of Jesus' authority over unclean spirits and material loss. The reader must weigh the economic loss against the spiritual deliverance without dismissing the witnesses' urgency.
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
And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
Cross-references
- Mark 5:14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.
- Luke 8:34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside.
- Acts 19:15 But one day the evil spirit responded, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”