Luke 8:31

31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go 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 commanded the unclean spirit to go out of the man. For many times it seized him: and he was bound with chains and kept in fetters: and breaking the bonds, he was driven by the devil into the deserts.

30 And Jesus asked him, saying: What is thy name? But he said: Legion. Because many devils were entered into him.

31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.

32 And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.

33 The devils therefore went out of the man and entered into the swine. And the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were stifled.