Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons^(A)

²⁸ When Jesus arrived at the other side of the lake in the ·area [region; territory] of the Gadarene^[a] people [^Cfrom Gadara, an area southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain], two ·men who had demons in them [demon-possessed men; demoniacs] came out of the ·burial caves [tombs] and met him. These men were so ·dangerous [violent; fierce] that people could not ·use the road by those caves [^Lpass that way]. ²⁹ They shouted, “·What do you want with us [or Leave us alone; What business do we have with each other?; ^LWhat to me and to you?], Son of God? Did you come here to ·torture [torment] us before the ·right time [or appointed time; ^Ltime; ^Cthe day of judgment]?”

³⁰ ·Near that place there [In the distance] was a large herd of pigs feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you ·make us leave these men [^Ldrive/cast us out], please send us into that herd of pigs [^Critually unclean animals].”

³² Jesus said to them, “Go!” So the demons ·left [came out of] the men and went into the pigs. Then [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the whole herd rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the ·lake [sea] and ·were drowned [^Ldied in the waters]. ³³ The herdsmen ·ran away [fled] and went into town, where they told about all of this and what had happened to the ·men who had demons [demon-possessed men; demoniacs]. ³⁴ Then [^Llook; ^Tbehold] the whole town went out to ·see [meet] Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their ·area [region; territory].

A Man with Demons Inside Him^(A)

5 ·Jesus and his followers [^LThey] went to the other side of the lake to the ·area [land; region] of the ·Gerasene^[a] people [^CGerasa was southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain]. ² When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man with an ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirit came to him from the ·burial caves [tombs; cemetery]. ³ This man lived in the ·caves [tombs], and no one could tie him up [any more], not even with a chain. ⁴ [For] Many times people had used [shackles and] chains to tie the man’s hands and feet, but he always ·broke them off [tore apart the chains and smashed the shackles]. No one was strong enough to ·control [subdue] him. ⁵ Day and night he would wander around the ·burial caves [tombs] and on the hills, screaming and ·cutting [bruising] himself with stones. ⁶ While Jesus was still far away, the man saw him, ran to him, and ·fell [bowed] down before him.

⁷ The man shouted in a loud voice, “·What do you want with me [Let me alone; What business do we have with each other; ^LWhat to me and to you; see 1:24], Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I ·command [beg; implore; swear to] you in God’s name not to ·torture [torment] me!” ⁸ He said this because Jesus was saying to him, “You ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirit, come out of the man.”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He answered, “My name is Legion [^Ca legion was about 5,000 soldiers in the Roman army], because we are many spirits.” ¹⁰ He begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of that ·area [land; region].

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on a hill near there. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us into the pigs; let us go into them.” ¹³ So Jesus allowed them to do this. The ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean] spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs—about two thousand of them—rushed down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the lake and were drowned.

¹⁴ The herdsmen ran away and went to the town and to the countryside, telling everyone about this. So people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who used to have ·the many evil spirits [^Lthe “legion”], sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. And they were frightened. ¹⁶ The people who saw this told the others what had happened to the man who had ·the demons living in him [been demon-possessed], and they told about the pigs. ¹⁷ Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting back into the boat, the man who ·was freed from the demons [had been demon-possessed] begged to go with him.

¹⁹ But Jesus would not let him. He said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man left and began to ·tell [proclaim/preach to] the people in the ·Ten Towns [or Decapolis; ^Ca league of ten cities east of Lake Galilee] about what Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

A Man with Demons Inside Him^(A)

²⁶ ·Jesus and his followers [^LThey] sailed across the lake from Galilee to the area of the Gerasene^[a] people [^CGerasa was southeast of Lake Galilee; the exact location is uncertain]. ²⁷ When Jesus got out on the land, a man from the town who ·had demons inside him [was possessed by demons] came to Jesus. For a long time he had worn no clothes and had lived in the ·burial caves [tombs], not in a house. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ·cried out [shouted; shrieked] and fell down before him. He said with a loud voice, “·What do you want with me [Leave me alone; What business do we have with each other; ^LWhat to me and to you], Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t ·torture [torment] me!” ²⁹ He said this because Jesus was commanding [reprimanding; rebuking] the ·evil [defiling; ^Lunclean; 4:33] spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had ·taken hold of [seized; taken control of] him. Though he had been kept under guard and chained hand and foot, he had broken his chains and had been ·forced [driven] by the demon out into ·a lonely place [the desert/wilderness].

³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

He answered, “Legion,” because many demons ·were in [had entered] him [^Ca legion was about five thousand Roman soldiers; the sense here is “many”]. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus not to ·send them [^Lcommand them to depart] into ·eternal darkness [the bottomless pit; ^Lthe Abyss]. ³² A large herd of pigs [^Cconsidered ritually unclean by Jews] was feeding on a hill, and the demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So Jesus allowed them to do this. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd ·ran [rushed] down the ·hill [steep bank; precipice] into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ·ran away [fled] and ·told about [reported] this in the town and the countryside. ³⁵ And people went to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind, because the demons were gone. But the people were frightened. ³⁶ The people who saw this happen told the others how Jesus had made the [^Ldemon-possessed] man well. ³⁷ All the ·people [crowd; multitude] of the Gerasene ·country [region] asked Jesus to leave [^Lthem], because they were all ·very afraid [overwhelmed/seized with great fear]. So Jesus got into the boat and ·went back across the lake [left; ^Lreturned].

³⁸ The man ·whom Jesus had healed [^Lfrom whom the demons had gone out] begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Go back home and ·tell [explain to] people ·how much [or what great things] God has done for you.” So the man went all over town ·telling [proclaiming] ·how much [or what great things] Jesus had done for him.