Mark 5
New Matthew Bible
He delivers the possessed man from the unclean spirits, and the woman from the flow of blood, and raises the synagogue leader’s daughter.
5 And they went over to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when he got out of the boat, there met him out of the graves a man possessed by an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the graves. And no man could bind him, no, not with chains. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he pulled the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces. Neither could anyone quiet him. 5 And always, both night and day, he wailed in the mountains and in the graves, and beat himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and knelt before him, 7 and cried out with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus Son of the most high God? I call on you in the name of God not to torment me. 8 For Jesus had said to him, Come out of the man, you foul spirit! 9 And Jesus asked him, What is your name? He answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. 10 And he pressed Jesus urgently not to send them away out of the region.
11 And there was there, near to the mountains, a great herd of swine feeding. 12 All the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the herd of swine, so that we may enter into them. 13 And at once Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine. And the herd started, and ran headlong into the sea. There were about 2,000 swine, and they were drowned in the sea.
14 And the swineherds fled and told this in the town and in the country. And the people came out to see what had happened, 15 and came to Jesus. They saw the man who had been vexed with the fiend and had the legion sitting both clothed and in his right mind, and were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it told them what had happened to the man possessed with the devil, and also about the swine. 17 And they began to urge Jesus to depart from their shores.
18 And when he got into the boat, the man who had been possessed with the devil asked him if he could be with him. 19 However Jesus would not allow him, but said to him, Go home to your own house and to your friends, and show them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had compassion on you.
20 And he departed and began to tell everywhere in the Ten Cities what great things Jesus had done for him. And all the people marvelled.
21 And when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, crowds of people gathered to him. And he was near to the sea. 22 And there came one of the leaders of the synagogue, whose name was Jairus. And when he saw him, he fell down at his feet, 23 and besought him greatly, saying, My daughter lies at the point of death. Please come and lay your hand on her, so that she can be saved and live.
24 And Jesus went with him, and the crowds followed him and thronged him. 25 And there was a certain woman who had been troubled by a flow of blood for twelve years. 26 She had endured many things from many physicians, and spent all that she had, and was not helped at all, but grew worse and worse. 27 When she heard of Jesus, she penetrated the press behind him and touched his garment. 28 For she thought, If I can but touch his clothes, I shall be healed. 29 And straightaway her flow of blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the illness.
30 And Jesus immediately felt in himself the power that went out of him, and turned around in the press of people and said, Who touched my clothes? 31 And his disciples said to him, You see the people thronging you, and yet you ask, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see who had done it. 33 The woman feared and trembled (for she knew what was done within her), and she came and fell down before him, and told him the truth of everything. 34 And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.
35 While he was yet speaking, certain people came from the house of the synagogue leader and said, Your daughter is dead; why trouble the Teacher any further? 36 As soon as Jesus heard that word spoken, he said to the leader of the synagogue, Be not afraid; only believe.
37 And he let no one follow him other than Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 And he went to the house of the synagogue leader and saw the disturbance, and the people who wept and wailed greatly, 39 and went in and said to them, Why do you make this ado, and weep? The maiden is not dead, but sleeping. 40 And they laughed him to scorn.
Then he put them all out, and took the father and the mother of the maiden and those who were with him, and entered in where the maiden lay. 41 He took the maiden by the hand and said to her, Tabitha, cumi! which translated is, Child, I say to you, arise! 42 And at once the maiden arose, and she walked on her feet, for she was twelve years of age. And they were astonished at it beyond measure. 43 And he charged them strictly that no one should know of it, and said to give her food.
Mark 5
J.B. Phillips New Testament
Jesus meets a violent lunatic
5 1-7 So they arrived on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man in the grip of an evil spirit rushed to meet him from among the tombs where he was living. It was no longer possible for any human being to restrain him even with a chain. Indeed he had frequently been secured with fetters and lengths of chain, but he had simply snapped the chains and broken the fetters in pieces. No one could do anything with him. All through the night as well as in the day-time he screamed among the tombs and on the hill-side, and cut himself with stones. Now, as soon as he saw Jesus in the distance, he ran and knelt before him, yelling at the top of his voice, “What have you got to do with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God? For God’s sake, don’t torture me!”
8 For Jesus had already said, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”
9 Then he asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is legion,” he replied, “for there are many of us.”
10 Then he begged and prayed him not to send “them” out of the country.
11-12 A large herd of pigs was grazing there on the hill-side, and the evil spirits implored him, “Send us over to the pigs and we’ll get into them!”
13-19 So Jesus allowed them to do this, and they came out of the man, and made off and went into the pigs. The whole herd of about two thousand stampeded down the cliff into the lake and was drowned. The swineherds took to their heels and spread their story in the city and all over the countryside. Then the people came to see what had happened. As they approached Jesus, they saw the man who had been devil-possessed sitting there properly clothed and perfectly sane—the same man who had been possessed by “legion”—and they were really frightened. Those who had seen the incident told them what had happened to the devil-possessed man and about the disaster to the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave their district. As he was embarking on the small boat, the man who had been possessed begged that he might go with him. But Jesus would not allow this. “Go home to your own people,” he told him, “And tell them what the Lord has done for you, and how kind he has been to you!”
20 So the man went off and began to spread throughout the Ten Towns the story of what Jesus had done for him. And they were all simply amazed.
Faith is followed by healing
21-23 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side of the lake, a great crowd collected around him as he stood on the shore. Then came a man called Jairus, one of the synagogue presidents. And when he saw Jesus, he knelt before him, pleading desperately for his help. “My little girl is dying,” he said. “Will you come and put your hands on her—then she will get better and live.”
24-28 Jesus went off with him, followed by large crowds jostling at his elbow. Among them was a woman who had a haemorrhage for twelve years and who had gone through a great deal at the hands of many doctors (or physicians), spending all her money in the process. She had derived no benefit from them but, on the contrary, was getting worse. This woman had heard about Jesus and came up behind him under cover of the crowd, and touched his cloak, “For if I can only touch his clothes,” she said, “I shall be all right.”
29-30 The haemorrhage stopped immediately, and she knew in herself that she was cured of her trouble. At once Jesus knew intuitively that power had gone out of him, and he turned round in the middle of the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples replied, “You can see this crowd jostling you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32-34 But he looked all round at their faces to see who had done so. Then the woman, scared and shaking all over because she knew that she was the one to whom this thing had happened, came and flung herself before him and told him the whole story. But he said to her, “Daughter, it is your faith that has healed you. Go home in peace, and be free from your trouble.”
35 While he was still speaking, messengers arrived from the synagogue president’s house, saying, “Your daughter is dead—there is no need to bother the master any further.”
36 But when Jesus heard this, he said, “Now don’t be afraid, just go on believing!”
37-39 Then he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, James’s brother. They arrived at the president’s house and Jesus noticed the hubbub and all the weeping and wailing, and as he went in, he said to the people in the house, “Why are you making such a noise with your crying? The child is not dead; she is fast asleep.”
40-41 They greeted this with a scornful laugh. But Jesus turned them all out, and taking only the father and mother and his own companions with him, went into the room where the child was. Then he took the little girl’s hand and said to her in Aramaic, “Little girl, I tell you to get up!”
42-43 At once she jumped to her feet and walked around the room, for she was twelve years old. This sight sent the others nearly out their minds with joy. But Jesus gave them strict instructions not to let anyone know what had happened—and ordered food to be given to the little girl.
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.