* **waterless places** - This refers to "desolate places" (UDB) where the evil spirits wander.
* **And finding none** - "If the spirit does not find any rest there"
* **my house from which I came** - This is a metaphor referring to the person he used to lived in. It can be translated as "the person in whom I used to live!" (UDB) The UDB goes on to translate it as a simile in verse 26. (See: [[en:ta:vol1:translate:figs_metaphor]])
* **finds that house swept out and put in order** - This can be translated with an active verb: "finds that someone has swept the house clean and put everything where it belongs." (See: [[en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_activepassive]], [[en:ta:vol1:translate:figs_metaphor]])
* **swept out** - "empty." This metaphor refers to the condition of the person who did not fill their life with God's Spirit after the demon left. (See: [[en:ta:vol1:translate:figs_metaphor]])