What Does Luke 8:35 Mean?
Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and whole in his mind, and they were afraid.
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
Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.THE KEY
The man is restored to ordinary human presence, seated, clothed, clear-minded, while the people around him are the ones afraid.
THE MEANING
The devils depart, and the man sits at Jesus’ feet, clothed and clear-minded. Release appears through restored presence and dignity. The people who see him are afraid, so the verse holds his restored mind and their fear in the same frame.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that what has ruled or tormented you has become your identity: when the devils depart, the man remains, seated and clear-minded.
THE ROOT
σωφρονοῦντα
sōphronounta
GROWS FROM
σώφρων
sōphrōn
Sound-minded; built from σῶς (sōs, sound or safe) and φρήν (phrēn, mind), it names a mind with judgment intact.
“whole in his mind” in this verse is sōphronounta. The Greek describes a man whose mind is settled and self-possessed. Luke places that restored mind beside his clothing and seated body, making release visible as whole human presence.
ALSO GROWS
sōphrosynē: Sound judgment, moderation, or self-control.
σωφροσύνη
This branch names the measured judgment that the man’s restored state now displays.
sōphronismos: Sound-mindedness or disciplined judgment.
σωφρονισμός
The same word family appears in 2 Timothy 1:7, where sound-mindedness stands alongside power and love.
ἱματισμένον
himatismenon
GROWS FROM
ἱματίζω
himatizō
To clothe or put a garment on; related to ἱμάτιον (himation, garment).
The perfect participle presents him as clothed, with that condition standing in view. Clothing is one of the visible signs of his restoration, alongside his seated posture and sound-mindedness.
ALSO GROWS
himation: A garment or cloak.
ἱμάτιον
The ordinary garment makes the change concrete: the man is visibly covered.
himatismos: Clothing, apparel, or attire.
ἱματισμός
This cognate names dress as a visible condition, echoing the embodied restoration in the verse.
THE PATTERN
Release becomes visible in changed condition: bonds break, a person stands free, and sound-mindedness returns.
He brings them out of darkness and the valley of deepest darkness, and tears their bonds apart.So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free.For God has not given us a breath of cowering, but a breath of power, and of love, and of a mind kept whole.THE THREAD
For God has not given us a breath of cowering, but a breath of power, and of love, and of a mind kept whole.Luke’s σωφρονοῦντα (sōphronounta, being sound-minded) and 2 Timothy’s σωφρονισμοῦ (sōphronismou, sound mind) belong to the same word family. That shared root makes the man’s restoration legible as the return of a settled mind, which 2 Timothy places alongside power and love.
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