The Gerasene Demoniac

¹They came to the ^[a]other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 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!” 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.

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 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 ^[d]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 ^[e]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.