When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,.... That is, the devil, who is in, and works in the children of disobedience, whether under a profession of religion or not; whose hearts are unclean like himself, wherefore there he delights to dwell; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "the evil demon": who may be said to go out of a man in appearance, when he outwardly reforms and takes up a profession of religion.
He walketh through dry places; or "a desert", as the Ethiopic version; to which the Gentile world is sometimes compared in the Old Testament Isa 35:1 whither Satan might go, being disturbed in Judea, through the many dispossessions by Christ; or rather leaving for a while the Scribes and Pharisees, who outwardly appeared righteous before men, he went to the Gentiles;seeking rest, and finding none; being also made uneasy among them, through the preaching of the Gospel, which was sent unto them after Christ's resurrection; and not being able to keep his place in the hearts of men, nor do the mischief he was desirous of.