Legion and the Swine

The words

Mark 5:1–20 (opens a new tab)

1. Adjure

   Appeal solemnly.

   Mark records “I adjure thee by God” in the cry addressed to Jesus; the next verse explains that Jesus has commanded the unclean spirit to come out.

   Mark 5:7–8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

2. Asunder

   Apart; into separate pieces.

   Mark’s KJV says the chains were “plucked asunder” by the man, while the fetters were broken in pieces; the NET renders the chains as torn apart.

   Mark 5:4 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

3. Chains

   Mark says no one could bind the man even with chains, then explains that earlier chains and fetters had been broken; Luke likewise describes restraints that failed.

   Mark 5:3–4 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:29 (opens a new tab)

4. Choked

   Drowned, in this account.

   Mark and Luke’s KJV accounts say the swine were choked after rushing into the water; Matthew says they perished in the waters, while NET Mark uses drowned.

   Mark 5:13 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:33 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:32 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

5. Clothed

   Mark describes visitors finding the man clothed and sitting with Jesus; later, Jesus sends him home to tell his friends what the Lord has done for him.

   Mark 5:15; Mark 5:19 (opens a new tab)

6. Fetters

   Shackles or chains for the feet.

   Mark pairs fetters with chains among the restraints the man had broken; the NET’s note explains fetters as chains for the feet, distinguishing the older word.

   Mark 5:4 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

7. Gadarenes

   Mark and Luke’s KJV use Gadarenes; Matthew’s KJV uses Gergesenes. NET Mark and Luke read Gerasenes, while NET Matthew reads Gadarenes; their notes describe the manuscript variants.

   Mark 5:1 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:26 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:28 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 8:26-39 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 8:28-34 (opens a new tab)

8. Herd

   Mark gives the herd as about two thousand swine when it rushes into the sea; Luke and Matthew describe a herd without giving that number in their accounts.

   Mark 5:13 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:32–33 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:30–32 (opens a new tab)

9. Legion

   Mark gives the answer “My name is Legion: for we are many”; Luke explains the name by saying many devils had entered the man, without giving their exact number.

   Did you know?

   Collins Dictionary lists legion both as a Roman military unit and as a large number of people or things, giving the word a broader English use.

   Mark 5:9 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:30 (opens a new tab) · Collins Dictionary: legion (opens a new tab)

10. Right Mind

    Mark describes the man sitting, clothed and “in his right mind”; Luke adds that he is sitting at Jesus’s feet, and both accounts report the onlookers’ fear.

    Mark 5:15 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:35 (opens a new tab)

11. Steep Place

    All three KJV accounts use steep place for the herd’s rush into the water, where it drowns; Mark and Matthew say sea, while Luke says lake.

    Mark 5:13 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:33 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:32 (opens a new tab)

12. Swine

    Pigs; the older term.

    Mark describes the unclean spirits entering the swine before the herd rushes into the sea and drowns; the NET uses pigs for the animals in the same passage.

    Mark 5:12–13 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

13. Tame

    Subdue or restrain, in this context.

    Mark’s KJV says no one could tame the man after describing the broken chains and fetters; the NET renders this as no one being strong enough to subdue him.

    Mark 5:4 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 5:1-20 (opens a new tab)

14. Tombs

    Mark and Luke describe a man living among tombs; Matthew describes two men coming from them. All three introduce the meeting after Jesus reaches the other side.

    Mark 5:1–3 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:26–27 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:28 (opens a new tab)

15. Torment

    Cause severe suffering.

    Mark records the plea “torment me not,” followed by the explanation about Jesus commanding the unclean spirit out; Matthew’s two men ask about torment before the time.

    Mark 5:7–8 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 8:29 (opens a new tab)