The Demon-possessed Man Cured

5 ^(A)They came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out of ^(B)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs ^(C)with an unclean spirit met Him. ³ He lived among the tombs; and no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain, ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and cutting himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “^[a](D)What business do You have with me, Jesus, ^(E)Son of ^(F)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had already been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is ^(G)Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding ^[b]nearby on the mountain. ¹² And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us into the pigs so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁵ “^[a]Lord, have mercy on my son, because he ^(A)has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed ^[b]at once.

⁴ Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^(A)boasts of great things.

^(B)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶ And ^(C)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among ^[a]our body’s parts as that which ^(D)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our ^[b]life, and is set on fire by ^[c](E)hell. ⁷ For every ^[d]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^[e]race. ⁸ But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of ^(F)deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless ^(G)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, ^(H)who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰ from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[a](B)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(D)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(E)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[b]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(F)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

¹⁵ But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(A)You have heard that ^[a]the ancients were told, ‘^(B)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(C)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(D)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[b]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[c](E)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[d](F)fiery hell.