Luke 8:31

31 And they made a request to him that he would not give them an order to go away into the deep.

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 gave an order to the evil spirit to come out of the man. For frequently it would take a grip of him: and he was kept under control, and prisoned with chains; but parting the chains in two, he would be sent by the driving of the evil spirit into waste places.

30 And Jesus said to him, What is your name? And he said, Legion; for a number of spirits had gone into him.

31 And they made a request to him that he would not give them an order to go away into the deep.

32 Now there was a great herd of pigs in that place, getting food on the mountain: and the evil spirits made a request to him that he would let them go into the pigs, and he let them.

33 And the evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs: and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the water and came to destruction.