Mark 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Demons Driven Out by the Master
5 Then(A) they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean(B) spirit(C) came out of the tombs(D) and met Him. 3 He lived in the tombs.(E) No one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains(F)— 4 because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed(G) the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue(H) him. 5 And always, night(I) and day, he was crying out among the tombs(J) and in the mountains(K) and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me,[b] Jesus, Son(L) of the Most High God?(M) I beg[c] You before God, don’t torment(N) me!” 8 For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean(O) spirit!”(P)
9 “What is your name?” He asked him.
“My name is Legion,”[d](Q) he answered Him, “because we are many.” 10 And he kept begging Him not to send them out of the region.
11 Now a large herd of pigs(R) was there, feeding(S) on the hillside. 12 The demons[e] begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” 13 And He gave them permission. Then the unclean(T) spirits(U) came out and entered the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there. 14 The men who tended them[f] ran off(V) and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed(W) by the legion,(X) sitting there, dressed and in his right mind;(Y) and they were afraid.(Z) 16 The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed(AA) man and told about the pigs. 17 Then they began to beg Him to leave their region.
18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. 19 But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord(AB) has done(AC) for you and how He has had mercy on you.” 20 So he went out and began to proclaim(AD) in the Decapolis(AE) how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.(AF)
A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed
21 When(AG) Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd(AH) gathered around Him while He was by the sea. 22 One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus,(AI) came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet(AJ) 23 and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door.[g] Come and lay Your hands on(AK) her so she can get well(AL) and live.”
24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. 25 A woman suffering from bleeding(AM) for 12 years 26 had endured(AN) much under many doctors.(AO) She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched(AP) His robe.(AQ) 28 For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!”(AR) 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured(AS) of her affliction.
30 At once Jesus realized in Himself that power(AT) had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd(AU) and said, “Who touched My robes?”(AV)
31 His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
32 So He was looking around to see who had done this. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down(AW) before Him, and told Him the whole truth.(AX) 34 “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith(AY) has made you well.[h](AZ) Go in peace and be free[i](BA) from your affliction.”(BB)
35 While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher(BC) anymore?”
36 But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid.(BD) Only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter,(BE) James,(BF) and John,(BG) James’s brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping?(BH) The child(BI) is not dead but asleep.”(BJ)
40 They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father,(BK) mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then He took the child(BL) by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!”[j] (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”(BM)). 42 Immediately the girl got up(BN) and began to walk.(BO) (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.(BP) 43 Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this(BQ) and said that she should be given something to eat.
Footnotes
- Mark 5:1 Some mss read Gadarenes; other mss read Gergesenes
- Mark 5:7 Lit What to me and to You
- Mark 5:7 Or adjure
- Mark 5:9 A Roman legion contained up to 6,000 soldiers; here legion indicates a large number.
- Mark 5:12 Other mss read All the demons
- Mark 5:14 Other mss read tended the pigs
- Mark 5:23 Lit My little daughter has it finally; = to be at the end of life
- Mark 5:34 Or has saved you
- Mark 5:34 Lit healthy
- Mark 5:41 An Aram expression
Mark 5
Living Bible
5 1-2 When they arrived at the other side of the lake, a demon-possessed man ran out from a graveyard, just as Jesus was climbing from the boat.
3-4 This man lived among the gravestones and had such strength that whenever he was put into handcuffs and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the handcuffs from his wrists and smashed the shackles and walked away. No one was strong enough to control him. 5 All day long and through the night he would wander among the tombs and in the wild hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp pieces of stone.
6 When Jesus was still far out on the water, the man had seen him and had run to meet him, and fell down before him.
7-8 Then Jesus spoke to the demon within the man and said, “Come out, you evil spirit.”
It gave a terrible scream, shrieking, “What are you going to do to me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, don’t torture me!”
9 “What is your name?” Jesus asked, and the demon replied, “Legion, for there are many of us here within this man.”
10 Then the demons begged him again and again not to send them to some distant land.
11 Now as it happened there was a huge herd of hogs rooting around on the hill above the lake. 12 “Send us into those hogs,” the demons begged.
13 And Jesus gave them permission. Then the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the hogs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
14 The herdsmen fled to the nearby towns and countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves. 15 And a large crowd soon gathered where Jesus was; but as they saw the man sitting there, fully clothed and perfectly sane, they were frightened. 16 Those who saw what happened were telling everyone about it, 17 and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone! 18 So he got back into the boat. The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along. 19 But Jesus said no.
“Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been.”
20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns[a] of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story.
21 When Jesus had gone across by boat to the other side of the lake, a vast crowd gathered around him on the shore.
22 The leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, 23 pleading with him to heal his little daughter.
“She is at the point of death,” he said in desperation. “Please come and place your hands on her and make her live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind. 25 In the crowd was a woman who had been sick for twelve years with a hemorrhage. 26 She had suffered much from many doctors through the years and had become poor from paying them, and was no better but, in fact, was worse. 27 She had heard all about the wonderful miracles Jesus did, and that is why she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his clothes.
28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.” 29 And sure enough, as soon as she had touched him, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was well!
30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “All this crowd pressing around you, and you ask who touched you?”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who it was who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still talking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus’s home with the news that it was too late—his daughter was dead and there was no point in Jesus’ coming now. 36 But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”
37 Then Jesus halted the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go on with him to Jairus’s home except Peter and James and John. 38 When they arrived, Jesus saw that all was in great confusion, with unrestrained weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and spoke to the people.
“Why all this weeping and commotion?” he asked. “The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep!”
40 They laughed at him in bitter derision, but he told them all to leave, and taking the little girl’s father and mother and his three disciples, he went into the room where she was lying.
41-42 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Get up, little girl!” (She was twelve years old.) And she jumped up and walked around! Her parents just couldn’t get over it. 43 Jesus instructed them very earnestly not to tell what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.
Footnotes
- Mark 5:20 to visit the Ten Towns, or “to visit Decapolis.”
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