Mark 5
Contemporary English Version
A Man with Evil Spirits
(Matthew 8.28-34; Luke 8.26-39)
5 Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa.[a] 2 When he was getting out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit quickly ran to him 3 from the graveyard[b] where he had been living. No one was able to tie the man up anymore, not even with a chain. 4 He had often been put in chains and leg irons, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one could control him. 5 Night and day he was in the graveyard or on the hills, yelling and cutting himself with stones.
6 When the man saw Jesus in the distance, he ran up to him and knelt down. 7 He shouted, “Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? Promise me in God's name that you won't torture me!” 8 The man said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to come out of him.
9 Jesus asked, “What is your name?”
The man answered, “My name is Lots, because I have ‘lots’ of evil spirits.” 10 He then begged Jesus not to send them away.
11 Over on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. 12 So the evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us into those pigs! Let us go into them.” 13 Jesus let them go, and they went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd of about 2,000 pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
14 The men taking care of the pigs ran to the town and the farms to spread the news. Then the people came out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had once been full of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on and in his right mind, and they were terrified.
16 Everyone who had seen what had happened told about the man and the pigs. 17 Then the people started begging Jesus to leave their part of the country.
18 When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you.”
20 The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis[c] and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed.
A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman
(Matthew 9.18-26; Luke 8.40-56)
21 Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee.[d] Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. 22 The person in charge of the synagogue was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus' feet 23 and started begging him for help. He said, “My little daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” 24 Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.
25 In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26 (A) She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.
27 The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. 28 She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was healed.
30 At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” 32 But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.
33 The woman knew what had happened to her. So she came trembling with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.
34 Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Jesus heard[e] what they said, and he said to Jairus, “Don't worry. Just have faith!”
37 Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. 38 They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise.[f] 39 Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn't dead. She is just asleep.” 40 But the people laughed at him.
After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. 41-42 He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!”[g] which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.
Everyone was greatly surprised. 43 But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”
Footnotes
- 5.1 Gerasa: Some manuscripts have “Gadara,” and others have “Gergesa.”
- 5.3 graveyard: It was thought that demons and evil spirits lived in graveyards.
- 5.20 the ten cities known as Decapolis: A group of ten cities east of Samaria and Galilee, where the people followed the Greek way of life.
- 5.21 crossed Lake Galilee: To the west side.
- 5.36 heard: Or “ignored.”
- 5.38 crying and making a lot of noise: The Jewish people often hired mourners for funerals.
- 5.41,42 Talitha, koum: These words are in Aramaic, a language spoken in Palestine during the time of Jesus.
Mark 5
Tree of Life Version
Power Over Demons
5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 As soon as Yeshua got out of the boat, a man from the graveyard[a] with an unclean spirit met Him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore, even with a chain. 4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been ripped apart by him and the shackles broken. No one was strong enough to tame him. 5 And through it all, night and day, at the graveyard and in the mountains, he kept screaming and gashing himself with stones.
6 When he saw Yeshua from a distance, he ran and bowed down before Him. 7 Crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What’s between You and me, Yeshua, Ben El Elyon? I’m warning you, in the name of God, do not torment me!”
8 For Yeshua had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Yeshua began questioning him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “My name is Legion,[b] for we are many.” 10 He kept begging Him not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 The unclean spirits urged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” 13 So Yeshua gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. And the herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the cliff and were drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen ran away and told the town and countryside, and they came to see what had happened. 15 Now they came to Yeshua and saw the madman who had had the legion. He was sitting there, dressed in clothes and in his right mind. The people were scared.
16 Those who had seen it described in detail what had happened to the man plagued by a demon, and they also told about the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Yeshua to leave their country. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been infested with demons kept begging to remain with Him. 19 Yeshua did not let him, but He told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much Adonai has done for you, how He showed you mercy.”
20 So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis[c] how much Yeshua had done for him. And all were amazed.
Power in His Touch
21 When Yeshua had crossed over in the boat again to the other side, a big crowd gathered around Him; and He was by the sea. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, comes. Seeing Him, he falls at His feet. 23 He begs Him a great deal, saying, “My little daughter is near death! Come and lay hands on her so that she may be healed and live!”
24 So Yeshua went off with him, and a big crowd was following Him and pressing upon Him. 25 And there was a woman with a blood flow for twelve years, [d] 26 who had suffered much under many doctors. She had spent all that she had without benefit; instead, she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Yeshua, she came through the crowd from behind and touched His garment. 28 For she kept saying, “If I touch even His clothes, I shall be healed.”
29 Right away the blood flow stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease. 30 At once Yeshua, knowing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 His disciples responded, “You see the crowd pressing upon You and you say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 But He kept looking around to see who had done this.
33 But the woman, scared and shaking, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in shalom and be healed from your disease.”
35 While Yeshua was still speaking, messengers come from the house of the synagogue leader, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why do you still trouble the Teacher?”
36 But ignoring what they said, Yeshua tells the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, Jacob, and John, the brother of Jacob.
38 They come to the house of the synagogue leader. He sees a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 After entering, He said to them, “Why make such a fuss and weep? The child didn’t die, but is sleeping.”
40 They start jeering at Him. But after sending all of them out, He takes the child’s father and mother, and those with Him, and enters where the child was. 41 Then, taking hold of the child’s hand, He tells her, “Talitha koum,”[e] which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.” 42 Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around! (She was twelve years old.) And they were overcome with astonishment. 43 But He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said something to eat should be given to her.
Footnotes
- Mark 5:2 Lit. tombs.
- Mark 5:9 Latin for thousands, a large group of soldiers; cf. Mt. 26:53.
- Mark 5:20 The name means Ten Cities.
- Mark 5:26 cf. Lev. 15:25-29.
- Mark 5:41 Greek transliteration for the general Aramaic command to get up; some mss. read Talitha kumi, referring directly to the little girl.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.