Mark 5

Demons Driven Out by Jesus

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.²³As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him.⁴⁵He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore — not even with a chain —⁶⁷because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him.⁸⁹Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.¹⁰

¹¹When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him.¹²¹³And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don’t torment me!”¹⁴¹⁵For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”¹⁶

¹⁷“What is your name?” he asked him. “My name is Legion,” he answered him, “because we are many.”¹⁸¹⁹And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.²⁰

²¹A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside.²²²³The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.”²⁴²⁵So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.²⁶

²⁷The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened.²⁸²⁹They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.³⁰³¹Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs.³²³³Then they began to beg him to leave their region.³⁴

³⁵As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him.³⁶³⁷Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”³⁸³⁹So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.⁴⁰

A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed

⁴¹When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea.⁴²⁴³One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet⁴⁴⁴⁵and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.”⁴⁶⁴⁷So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.⁴⁸

⁴⁹Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years⁵⁰⁵¹had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse.⁵²⁵³Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing.⁵⁴⁵⁵For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”⁵⁶⁵⁷Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction.⁵⁸

⁵⁹Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”⁶⁰

⁶¹His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”⁶²

⁶³But he was looking around to see who had done this.⁶⁴⁶⁵The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.⁶⁶⁶⁷“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”⁶⁸

⁶⁹While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”⁷⁰

⁷¹When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”⁷²⁷³He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother.⁷⁴⁷⁵They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion — people weeping and wailing loudly.⁷⁶⁷⁷He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”⁷⁸⁷⁹They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was.⁸⁰⁸¹Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”).⁸²⁸³Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.⁸⁴⁸⁵Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat.⁸⁶