Matthew 8:33
in Matthew 8Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they that fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to them that were possessed with demons.
KJV
And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
⋯
This verse in Matthew 8
Commentary
13 notes on this verseThe Saviour bade them go, not as yielding to their request, but that by the death of the swine, an occasion of man's salvation might be offered. But they went out, (to wit, out of the men,) and went into the swine; and, lo, the whole herd rushed violently headlong into the sea, and perished in the waters. Let Manichæus blush; if the souls of men and of beasts be of one substance, and one origin, how should two thousand swine have perished for the sake of the salvation of two men?
This site's exposition
an herd of many swine
on Matthew 8:30-34
An herd of many swine feeding a good way off marks the country as Gentile or lawless, and the demons beg passage into it; his answer is one word, Go. The herd's violent run into the sea is the scene's testimony, the destruction the man had carried made visible, and the bench declines to moralize the swine beyond what the text gives. The keepers flee, the city comes out, and the chapter closes on its bleakest response to Jesus yet: they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts, valuing the herd above the healed. Matthew, in restraint, does not even record the healed men's state; he lets the city's request stand as the counterweight to the centurion's, the chapter bracketed by a Gentile who begged him to speak and a Gentile city that begged him to leave.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The herdsmen fled at the sight of the divine power and reported to the town what had happened. The people entreated the Lord to depart from their district. This may symbolize the leaders of the Jews or the priests of idols, who, dispensing the food …
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 28 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Now, should any one say, "And wherefore did Christ fulfill the devils' request, suffering them to depart into the herd of swine?" this would be our reply, that He did so, not as yielding to them, but as providing for many objects thereby. One, to teach them that are delivered from those wicked tyrants, how great the malice of their insidious enemies; another, that all might learn, how not even against swine are they bold, except He allow them; a third, that they would have treated those men more grievously than the swine, unless even in their calamity they had enjoyed much of God's providential care. For that they hate us more than the brutes is surely evident to every man. So then they that spared not the swine, but in one moment of time cast them all down the precipice, much more would they have done so to the men whom they possessed, leading them towards the desert, and carrying them away, unless even in their very tyranny the guardian care of God had abounded, to curb and check the excess of their violence. Whence it is manifest that there is no one, who doth not enjoy the benefit of God's providence. […]
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 28 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And mark also His meekness together with His power. For when the inhabitants of that country, after having received such benefits, were driving Him away, He resisted not, but retired, and left those who had shown themselves unworthy of His teaching, having given them for teachers them that had been freed from the demons, and the swine-herds, that they might of them learn all that had happened; whilst Himself retiring leaves the fear vigorous in them. For the greatness withal of the loss was spreading the fame of what had been done, and the event penetrated their mind. And from many quarters were wafted sounds, proclaiming the strangeness of the miracle; from the cured, and from the drowned, from the owners of the swine, from the men that were feeding them.
Or this may be understood in another way, for there may be more than one spiritual meaning, namely, we can look upon these two demoniacs in a larger sense as two [Gentile] peoples (as we noted before)9 who by the word and grace of Christ …
(Verse 32, 33.) If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs. And He said to them: Go. And they, going out, went into the pigs. And behold, the whole herd rushed headlong into the sea, and they died in the water. But the shepherds fled; and coming into the city, they announced all these things, and about those who had demons. Not that the Savior granted the demons what they were asking, He said, go: but so that through the destruction of the pigs, an opportunity for salvation would be given to the people. For when the shepherds see these things, they immediately report them to the city. Let Manichaeus be ashamed, if the souls of men and beasts are of the same substance and from the same author, how is it that for the salvation of one man, two thousand pigs are choked?
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
(in Luc. 8.) That they that fed the swine, fled and told what was done, signifies that even the leaders of the wicked though they shun the law of Christianity, yet cease not to proclaim the wonderful power of Christ.
He continues with the amazement of the swineherds: Hence the herdsmen fled and told everything. They told something sad and something joyful: sad about the swine, but joyful about the cured demoniac. By those herdsmen are signified the synagogue rulers, who for the sake of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they that kept them fled,.... The hog herds, men of very low life, and whose employment was very infamous and reproachful, as has been observed. These, amazed at what they had seen, distressed with the loss of the swine, and so of their employment, and frightened also lest they should incur the blame and displeasure of their masters, ran away in great haste, fear, and astonishment; and went their way into the city; either of Gergesa, or Gadara.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The subject of these seven verses is deep and mysterious. The casting out of a devil is here described with special fulness. It is one of those passages which throw strong light on a dark and difficult point. Let us settle it firmly in our minds that there is such a being as the devil. It is an awful truth, and one too much overlooked. There is an unseen spirit ever near us, of mighty power and full of endless malice against our souls. From the beginning of creation he has labored to injure man.
The subject of these seven verses is deep and mysterious. The casting out of a devil is here described with special fulness. It is one of those passages which throw strong light on a dark and difficult point. Let us settle it firmly in our minds that there is such a being as the devil. It is an awful truth, and one too much overlooked. There is an unseen spirit ever near us, of mighty power and full of endless malice against our souls. From the beginning of creation he has labored to injure man. Until the Lord comes the second time and binds him, he will never cease to tempt, and practicing mischief. In the days when our Lord was upon earth, it is clear that he had peculiar power over the bodies of certain men and women, as well as over their souls. Even in our own times there may be more of this bodily possession than some suppose, though confessedly in a far less degree than when Christ came in the flesh. But that the devil is ever near us, and ever ready to ply our hearts with temptations, ought never to be forgotten. Let us in the next place settle it firmly in our minds that the power of the devil is limited.Mighty as he is, there is one mightier still. Keenly as his will is set on doing harm in the world, he can only work by permission. These verses show us that the evil spirits know they can only go to and fro and ravage the earth until the time allowed them by the Lord of lords. “Art thou come to torment us,” they say, “before the time?” Their very petition shows us that they could not even hurt one of the swine of the Gadarenes unless Jesus the Son of God suffered them. “Suffer us they say to go into herd of swine. Let us in next place settle it in our minds that our Lord Jesus Christ is man’s great deliverer from the power of the devil. He can redeem us not only from all iniquity, and this present evil world, but from the devil.
And they that kept them fled - Terrified at what had happened to the swine.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οἱ | hoi | Those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| βόσκοντες | boskontes | feeding [them] | G1006 → | |
| ἔφυγον, | ephugon | fled, | G5343 → | 29 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀπελθόντες | apelthontes | having gone away | G565 → | 115 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πόλιν | polin | city | G4172 → | 163 times |
| ἀπήγγειλαν | apengeilan | they related | G518 → | 43 times |
| πάντα | panta | everything | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| καὶ | kai | including | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τὰ | ta | the [matter] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τῶν | ton | of those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δαιμονιζομένων. | daimonizomenon | being demonised. | G1139 → | 13 times |
οἱThose
hoiG3588 →19766 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
βόσκοντεςfeeding [them]
boskontesG1006 →
ἔφυγον,fled,
ephugonG5343 →29 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀπελθόντεςhaving gone away
apelthontesG565 →115 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
πόλινcity
polinG4172 →163 times
ἀπήγγειλανthey related
apengeilanG518 →43 times
πάνταeverything
pantaG3956 →1235 times
καὶincluding
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τὰthe [matter]
taG3588 →19766 times
τῶνof those
tonG3588 →19766 times
δαιμονιζομένων.being demonised.
daimonizomenonG1139 →13 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Chromatius of Aquileia, TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 43.5; Chromatius of Aquileia, TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 43.6; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 28; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.