And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

And they brought him. And when he had seen him, immediately the spirit troubled him; and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming.

And they brought him to him. And seeing him the spirit immediately tore him; and falling upon the earth he rolled foaming.

And they brought him to him: and when he saw him, immediately the spirit tore him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed, foaming.

and they brought him unto him, and he having seen him, immediately the spirit tare him, and he, having fallen upon the earth, was wallowing, foaming.

So they brought him to Jesus. And the spirit, when he saw Jesus, immediately threw the youth into convulsions, so that he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

And they took him to him: and when he saw him, the spirit in him straight away became violent; and he went down on the earth, rolling about and streaming at the lips.

And they brought him. And when he had seen him, immediately the spirit disturbed him. And having been thrown to the ground, he rolled around foaming.

They brought him to Jesus; but no sooner did the boy see him than the spirit threw him into convulsions; and he fell on the ground, and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.

And as soon as he saw him. That the devil should rage with more than ordinary cruelty against the man, when he is brought to Christ, ought not to excite surprise; for in proportion as the grace of Christ is seen to be nearer at hand, and acts more powerfully, the fury of Satan is the more highly excited. The presence of Christ awakens him like the sound of a trumpet. He raises as violent a storm as he can, and contends with all his might. We ought to be prepared beforehand with such meditations, that our faith may not be disturbed, when the approach of the grace of Christ is met by more than ordinary violence on the part of our enemy. Nor ought we to lose sight of another point, that the true commencement of our cure is, when our affliction is so heavy that we are almost at the point of death. It must also be taken into account that, by means of the furious attack of Satan, our Lord lights a torch to cause his grace to be seen; for, when the spectators were appalled at the dreadful spectacle, the display of the power of Christ, which immediately followed, was more distinctly perceived.

When he saw him the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, etc. - When this demon saw Jesus, he had great rage, knowing that his time was short; and hence the extraordinary convulsions mentioned above.

And they brought him unto him: and when he (g) saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
(g) As soon as Jesus had looked upon the boy that was brought to him, the demon began to rage in this way.

And they brought him unto him,.... The father of the child, and those that were with him, brought the child to Jesus, into his presence, before him:
and when he saw him, that is, either when Jesus saw the child, or the child saw Jesus; or the evil spirit in him, and by him which were all at once:
straightway the spirit tare him; threw him into a violent fit, shook him, and convulsed him in a dreadful manner; knowing his time was short, and being filled with indignation and rage, that he should be obliged, as he knew he must, to leave the child very speedily; and was therefore resolved to do all the mischief, and put him to all the pain he could:
and he fell on the ground; at the feet of Jesus, not being able to stand, through the violent motions and convulsions he threw him into:
and wallowed, foaming; rolled about from side to side, foaming at the mouth, and in the most exquisite rack and torture.

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him--Just as the man with the legion of demons, "when he saw Jesus, ran and worshipped Him" (Mark 5:6), so this demon, when he saw Him, immediately "tare him." The feeling of terror and rage was the same in both cases.
and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming--Still Jesus does nothing, but keeps conversing with the father about the case--partly to have its desperate features told out by him who knew them best, in the hearing of the spectators; partly to let its virulence have time to show itself; and partly to deepen the exercise of the father's soul, to draw out his faith, and thus to prepare both him and the by-standers for what He was to do.

When he saw him - When the child saw Christ; when his deliverance was at hand. Immediately the spirit tore him - Made his last grand effort to destroy him. Is it not generally so, before Satan is cast out of a soul, of which he has long had possession?