“‘Let us alone!
What have you
To do with us?
Jesus of Nazareth!
Have you come
To destroy us?
I know
Who you are!
The Holy One of God!’”
Ἔα, τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί, Ἰησοῦ Ναζαρηνέ; ἦλθες ἀπολέσαι ἡμᾶς; οἶδά σε τίς εἶ, ὁ Ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Matthew, chapter 8:29, has something similar, but it was not in a Capernaum synagogue, but in Gadarenes and it was 2 demonic spirits, not one as here. Mark, chapter 1:24 is similar to here, word for word. On the other hand, Mark, chapter 5:7, as well as Luke, chapter 8;28 had these demoniacs speak to Jesus with somewhat similar words. Here Luke said that the evils spirits in this man spoke to Jesus. He asked Jesus of Nazareth (Ἰησοῦ Ναζαρηνέ) what he had to do with them (Ἔα, τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί). Had Jesus come to destroy or kill them (ἦλθες ἀπολέσαι ἡμᾶς)? He said that he knew who he was (οἶδά σε τίς εἶ), the Holy One of God (ὁ Ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ). Matthew had them say that Jesus had come to torment them, not destroy them, since the time of the final judgment day had not arrived. This unclean spirit world was alive and active in first century Israelite culture. The term “Holy One of God” had been applied to the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings, chapter 4:9, as another name for a prophet, which was not as strong as the “Son of God,” a more powerful term. Thus, the evil spirits were able to recognize Jesus of Nazareth as a special person.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 