Luke 8:31

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

Luke 8:31 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:31

And they besought him
That is, all the devils, the whole legion of them, entreated Jesus, under whose power, and at whose dispose they were:

that he would not command them to go out into the deep;
meaning, not the deep waters of the sea, for thither they ran the swine at their own request; but the bottomless pit of hell, where others of these spirits lay in chains of darkness; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "into hell": they desired, that when they went out of this man, they might not be ordered thither, or remanded to their former prison; for they knew that if he gave the word of command, they must obey; but that they might be suffered to continue in that country, and range about on earth, or be any where, rather than in hell.

Luke 8:31 In-Context

29 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to come out of the man. (The evil spirit had controlled the man for a long time. People had kept him under guard. He was chained hand and foot. But he would break the chains. Then the demon would force him to go into the desert.)

30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Legion [Six Thousand]." (Many demons had entered him.)

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

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside. The demons begged Jesus to let them enter those pigs. So he let them do this.

33 The demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.