Luke 8:31

31 And they began imploring him that he would not order them to depart into 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 had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For it had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles [and] was guarded, and breaking the bonds he would be driven by the demon into the deserted places.)

30 So Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered into him.

31 And they began imploring him that he would not order them to depart into the abyss.

32 Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding there on the hill, and they implored him that he would permit them to enter into those [pigs]. And he permitted them.

33 So the demons came out of the man [and] entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the lake and were drowned.

Footnotes

• [a]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began imploring")