Luke 8:31

31 and he was calling on him, that he may not command them to go away to the abyss,

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 For he commanded the unclean spirit to come forth from the man, for many times it had caught him, and he was being bound with chains and fetters -- guarded, and breaking asunder the bonds he was driven by the demons to the deserts.

30 And Jesus questioned him, saying, `What is thy name?' and he said, `Legion,' (because many demons were entered into him,)

31 and he was calling on him, that he may not command them to go away to the abyss,

32 and there was there a herd of many swine feeding in the mountain, and they were calling on him, that he might suffer them to enter into these, and he suffered them,

33 and the demons having gone forth from the man, did enter into the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep to the lake, and were choked.