Jesus Heals a Man with Evil Spirits^(A)

5 Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory of Gerasa. ² As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came out of the burial caves there. This man had an evil spirit in him ³ and lived among the tombs. Nobody could keep him tied with chains any more; ⁴ many times his feet and his hands had been tied, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him. ⁵ Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.

⁶ He was some distance away when he saw Jesus; so he ran, fell on his knees before him, ⁷ and screamed in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? For God's sake, I beg you, don't punish me!” (⁸ He said this because Jesus was saying, “Evil spirit, come out of this man!”)

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

The man answered, “My name is ‘Mob’—there are so many of us!” ¹⁰ And he kept begging Jesus not to send the evil spirits out of that region.

¹¹ There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. ¹² So the spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” ¹³ He let them go, and the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the pigs. The whole herd—about two thousand pigs in all—rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

¹⁴ The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and spread the news in the town and among the farms. People went out to see what had happened, ¹⁵ and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the man with the demons, and about the pigs.

¹⁷ So they asked Jesus to leave their territory.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”

¹⁹ But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you.”

²⁰ So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.

Jesus Heals a Man with Demons^(A)

²⁶ Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa,^[a] which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!” ²⁹ He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet tied with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.

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

“My name is ‘Mob,’” he answered—because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss.^[b]

³² There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them. ³³ They went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ The men who had been taking care of the pigs saw what happened, so they ran off and spread the news in the town and among the farms. ³⁵ People went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told the people how the man had been cured. ³⁷ Then all the people from that territory asked Jesus to go away, because they were terribly afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and left. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged Jesus, “Let me go with you.”

But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Go back home and tell what God has done for you.”

The man went through the town, telling what Jesus had done for him.