The Gerasene Demoniac

5 They came to the ^[a]other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.^{(A) 2} When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and the man lived in the ^[b]tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with chains. ⁴ For he had often been bound with shackles [for the feet] and with chains, and he tore apart the chains and broke the shackles into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue and tame him. ⁵ Night and day he was constantly screaming and shrieking among the tombs and on the mountains, and cutting himself with [sharp] stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him [in homage]; ⁷ and screaming with a loud voice, he said, “^[c]What business do we have in common with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God [swear to me], do not torment me!”^{(B) 8} For Jesus had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he began begging Him repeatedly not to send them out of the region. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of pigs grazing there on the mountain. ¹² And the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the pigs so that we may go into them!” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered the pigs. The herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea; and they were drowned [one after the other] in the sea.

¹⁴ The herdsmen [tending the pigs] ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what had happened. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had [previously] had the “legion” [of demons]; and they were frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described [in detail] to the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [told them all] about the pigs. ¹⁷ So the people began to beg with Jesus to leave their region. ¹⁸ As He was stepping into the boat, the [Gentile] man who had been demon-possessed was begging with Him [asking] that he might go with Him [as a disciple]. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So he [obeyed and] went away and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten Hellenistic cities] all the great things that Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

Jesus Casts Out Demons

²⁸ When He arrived at the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs met Him. They were so extremely fierce and violent that no one could pass by that way.^{(A) 29} And they screamed out, “^[a]What business do we have [in common] with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us before the appointed time [of judgment]?”^{(B) 30} Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was grazing. ³¹ The demons began begging Him, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” So they came out [of the men] and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the water. ³³ The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons. ³⁴ And the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

The Demoniac Cured

²⁶ Then they sailed to the ^[a]country of the Gerasenes, which is east of Galilee.^{(A) 27} Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the ^[b]tombs. ²⁸ Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “^[c]What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!” ²⁹ Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him [violently] many times; and he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ They continually begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss.^(B)

³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the mountain. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the city and out in the country. ³⁵ And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. ³⁷ Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee]. ³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles and Healing

²¹ When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side [of the sea], a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. ²² One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up; and seeing Him, fell at His feet^{(A) 23} and begged anxiously with Him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; [please] come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ And Jesus went with him; and a large crowd followed Him and pressed in around Him [from all sides].

²⁵ A woman [in the crowd] had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much [suffering] at the hands of many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse. ²⁷ She had heard [reports] about Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His outer robe. ²⁸ For she thought, “If I just touch His clothing, I will get well.” ²⁹ Immediately her flow of blood was dried up; and she felt in her body [and knew without any doubt] that she was healed of her suffering. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus, recognizing in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” ³¹ His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in around You [from all sides], and You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² Still He kept looking around to see the woman who had done it. ³³ And the woman, though she was afraid and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ Then He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has restored you to health; go in peace and be [permanently] healed from your suffering.”

³⁵ While He was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue official’s house, saying [to Jairus], “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher any longer?” ³⁶ Overhearing what was being said, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power].” ³⁷ And He allowed no one to go with Him [as witnesses], except Peter and ^[a]James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He looked [with understanding] at the uproar and commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing [in mourning]. ³⁹ When He had gone in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is sleeping.” ⁴⁰ They began laughing [scornfully] at Him [because they knew the child was dead]. But He made them all ^[b]go outside, and took along the child’s father and mother and His own [three] companions, and entered the room where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking the child’s hand, He said [tenderly] to her, “Talitha kum!”—which translated [from Aramaic] means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ⁴² The little girl immediately got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they [who witnessed the child’s resurrection] were overcome with great wonder and utter amazement. ⁴³ He gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.

Miracles of Healing

¹⁸ While He was saying these things to them, a ruler (synagogue official) entered [the house] and kneeled down and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just now died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”^{(A) 19} Jesus got up and began to accompany the ruler, with His disciples.

²⁰ Then a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the [tassel] fringe of His outer robe;^{(B) 21} for she had been saying to herself, “If I only touch His outer robe, I will be healed.” ²² But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Take courage, daughter; your [personal trust and confident] faith [in Me] has made you well.” And at once the woman was [completely] healed.

²³ When Jesus came to the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players [who were professional, hired mourners] and the [grieving] crowd making an uproar, ²⁴ He said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead, but is sleeping.” And they laughed and jeered at Him. ²⁵ But when the crowd had been sent outside, Jesus went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶ And the news about this spread throughout all that district.

Miracles of Healing

⁴⁰ Now as Jesus was returning [to Galilee], the people welcomed Him, for they had all been expecting Him. ⁴¹ Now a man named Jairus, a synagogue official, came [to Him]; and he fell at Jesus’ feet and began begging Him to come to his house;^{(A) 42} for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Jesus went, the people were crowding against Him [almost crushing Him].

⁴³ And a woman who had [suffered from] a hemorrhage for twelve years ^[a][and had spent all her money on physicians], and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His outer robe, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” While they all were denying it, Peter ^[b][and those who were with him] said, “Master, the people are crowding and pushing against You!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, because I was aware that power [to heal] had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith [your personal trust and confidence in Me] has made you well. Go in peace (untroubled, undisturbed well-being).”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official’s house came and said [to Jairus], “Your daughter is dead; do not inconvenience the Teacher any further.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe and trust [in Me and have faith in My ability to do this], and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He allowed no one to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping loudly and mourning for her; but He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead, but is sleeping.” ⁵³ Then they began laughing scornfully at Him and ridiculing Him, knowing [without any doubt] that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But Jesus took hold of her hand and spoke, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that she be given something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were greatly astonished [by the miracle]; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.