What Does Luke 4:35 Mean?
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be muzzled, and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him into the midst, it came out of him, and did not hurt him.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.THE KEY
What grips the man is not the man: it is silenced and sent out, while he remains unharmed.
THE MEANING
The one being tormented is distinct from the force tormenting him: the force exits, and the person is not harmed by its leaving. The verse holds release and preservation together, so that what departs is the affliction, not the person.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what has taken hold of you is identical with you, or that its departure must harm you; the verse keeps the person and the afflicting force distinct.
THE ROOT
Φιμώθητι
phimōthēti
GROWS FROM
φιμ- (phim-), from φιμόω (phimoō)
To muzzle; to silence by restraining the mouth.
“Be muzzled” in this verse is phimōthēti. The Greek command carries the concrete image of a muzzle, so silence here is a restraint placed on the force before it exits. The movement toward release begins by stopping the disruptive voice.
ALSO GROWS
phimos: A muzzle or mouth restraint.
φίμος
The noun makes the command’s image concrete: the force is silenced at its mouth.
phimoō: To muzzle or silence; used of restraining an ox’s mouth.
φιμόω
The same verb family appears in the command, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox” (1 Corinthians 9:9), linking this silence to a physical restraint.
ἔξελθε
exelthe
GROWS FROM
ἐρχ-/ἐλθ- (erch-/elth-), from ἔρχομαι (erchomai)
To come or go; with ἐξ (ex, out), to come or go out.
“come out” in this verse is exelthe. The command marks a direction: out from the man. The same motion-root can describe going in or going out as the prefix changes; here the afflicting force is the one sent away.
ALSO GROWS
exerchomai: To come out or go out.
ἐξέρχομαι
This is the verb family behind the command, naming the force’s departure from the man.
eiserchomai: To enter or go in.
εἰσέρχομαι
The shared motion-root shows that the prefix marks the direction; this verse commands movement outward, away from the person.
βλάψαν
blapsan
GROWS FROM
βλαβ-/βλαπ- (blab-/blap-), from βλάπτω (blaptō)
To harm, damage, or injure.
“hurt him not” in this verse is blapsan. The Greek closes the scene by negating harm to the man, not by denying that the force leaves. The exit and the man’s safety happen together: what harms departs without the person being harmed.
ALSO GROWS
blabē: Harm, injury, or damage.
βλάβη
The verse explicitly says that no harm comes to the man as the afflicting force leaves.
blaberós: Harmful or injurious.
βλαβερός
This related word keeps the distinction clear between what is harmful and the person who remains unharmed.
THE PATTERN
A commanding word confronts what afflicts, opens a way for it to leave, and preserves the person.
He sends his word and heals them, and slips them free from their pits.When evening had come, they brought to him many held by demons; and he cast out the breaths with a word, and healed all who were sick.She did this for many days. But Paul, worn through with pain, turned and said to the breath, I command you in the nature of Jesus the Anointed One, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.THE THREAD
And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever, and it let go of her, and at once she rose and served them.Luke uses the same Greek verb, ἐπετίμησεν (epetimēsen, rebuked), when Jesus addresses a fever, and the fever leaves. The shared word links both scenes: what afflicts is addressed directly, while the person remains.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us