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OET (OET-LV) And they_sailed_down to the region of_the Gerasaʸnōn, which is opposite the Galilaia/(Gālīl).
OET (OET-RV) Then they sailed across to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.
After the storm in the preceding section, Jesus and his disciples arrived at the northeastern shore of Lake Galilee. Most of the people who lived in this region were Gentiles. A man who was controlled by many demons immediately came to Jesus. Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man. When they left, they went to control a large herd of pigs and destroyed them. When Jesus freed the man from these demons, he showed his great power over them.
“Uncleanness” is a theme in this story. The spirits that controlled the man were considered “unclean” (and called “unclean” in 8:29a). Tombs were “unclean.” Jews also considered pigs to be “unclean.”
When people saw that Jesus had caused the demons to leave the man and enter the pigs, they asked him to leave the area. Their response showed that even when people saw that Jesus was very powerful, sometimes they still would not believe in him or accept him as the Messiah.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus commanded many demons to leave a man
The deliverance of a man who was controlled by many demons
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 8:28–34 and Mark 5:1–20.
In this paragraph Luke told about events that happened when Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake. Several times Luke inserted background information about the past. In some languages speakers often shift in this way between telling events and giving background information to explain them. Use natural ways to do this in your language.
In some languages this shift between actions and background information may be confusing. You may need to change the order of some information in these verses. See the General Comment on 8:27a–28a at the end of the notes on 8:28a and the longer General Comment on 8:27–29 at the end of the notes on 8:29e for suggestions.
Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,
¶ They arrived at the region where the people called the Gerasenes lived,
¶ Then Jesus and his disciples/followers continued going in their boat and came to the area around the town of Gerasa.
Then: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the KJV, translate it that way. Other versions, such as the NIV, CEV, and GNT, do not translate this conjunction. But other versions say “So” (NET, NLT) or “Then” (BSB, NASB, NRSV). Connect 4:4a to 4:3b in a way that is natural in your language.
they: The word they refers to Jesus and his disciples. Refer to them here at the beginning of this story in a natural way in your language.
sailed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sailed refers to traveling by boat (using either oars or sails). It specifically means “to come from the deep water to the shore.” It refers here to the end of the trip that Jesus and his disciples started in 8:22. Some languages may have a specific word for this. For example:
landed (REB)
Other ways to indicate this are:
they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes (RSV)
sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore (CEV)
the region of the Gerasenes: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Gerasenes refers to people who lived in the city called “Gerasa”Gerasa was about 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the southeast shore of Lake Galilee. So using this term in connection with Jesus’ arrival on the northeast shore of the Lake has troubled Bible scholars through the centuries (leading to the textual variants). One suggested resolution is that since Gerasa was one of the prominent cities of the Decapolis, the name may have been used to describe the whole region. and the countryside around it. Gerasenes were mostly non-Jewish people. The phrase the region of the Gerasenes means “the region where the Gerasene people lived.” Some other ways to translate this are:
region/area of the Gerasa people
place where people called the Gerasenes lived
region of the city of Gerasa and around it
Gerasenes: There is a textual issue in this verse:
Some Greek manuscripts have Gerasenes, people from the town of Gerasa. (BSB, NIV, GNT, CEV, GW, JBP, NASB, NET, NCV, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB)
Other Greek manuscripts have Gadarenes, people from the town of Gadara. (KJV)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), which is followed by most English versions.The textual decision is a complicated one. The three main variants (common also to the parallel passages in Matthew 8:28 and Mark 5:1) all have points in their favor as well as difficulties:· Gerasenes (of the city of Gerasa): This reading is the choice of the UBS text committee on the basis of early attestation in both the Alexandrian and Western text types. However, Gerasa is geographically difficult in that it was about 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the lake and was not likely to control land along the lakeshore (the Decapolis cities of Gadara and Hippo were closer to the lake).· Gadarenes (of the city of Gadara): Gadara was about 5–6 miles (9 kilometers) from the lakeshore and according to Josephus did control land all the way to the shore. However this reading is less well attested in Luke and Mark.· Gergesenes (of the village of Gergesa): Many scholars identify Gergesa with a small village on the northeast coast of the lake whose ruins have been recently discovered. The area has steep banks going down to the lake and this seems to accord well with biblical account. But even if this is the likely location of the miracle, it does not necessarily solve the textual problem. Tony Pope points out (CONNOT, Mark 5:1) that it is not likely that the phrase “the region of” would be used in connection with a small village.For further reading, see Metzger for Matthew 8:28 and Jerusalem Perspective articles “Gergesa: Site of the Demoniac’s Healing” by Mendel Nun (No. 50 January/March, 1996) and “Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? Where Did Jesus’ Miracle Occur?” by Ze’ev Safrai (No. 51 April/June, 1996). However, if the national language version in the area follows option (2), it is recommended that you put this in a footnote. For example:
Other Greek manuscripts and the [national language version] have “Gadarenes.”
across the lake from Galilee.
which is on the opposite side of the lake from/to Galilee.
This area was across the lake from the region/province of Galilee.
across the lake from Galilee: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as across the lake from Galilee is literally “opposite Galilee.” Because “opposite” here means “on the opposite side of the lake from Galilee,” it may be clearer to say across the lake from Galilee, as the BSB does.
They sailed from the northwest shore of the lake in the province of Galilee to the northeast shore. If your language requires or prefers to indicate the direction of travel, indicate that they were sailing east.
Note 1 topic: translate-names
τὴν χώραν τῶν Γερασηνῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί κατέπλευσαν εἰς τήν χώραν τῶν Γερασηνῶν ἥτις ἐστίν ἀντιπέρα τῆς Γαλιλαίας)
The name Gerasenes refers to people from the city of Gerasa.
ἀντιπέρα τῆς Γαλιλαίας
opposite ¬the Galilee
Alternate translation: [on the other side of the lake from Galilee]
OET (OET-LV) And they_sailed_down to the region of_the Gerasaʸnōn, which is opposite the Galilaia/(Gālīl).
OET (OET-RV) Then they sailed across to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.