Old Testament

Mark 5
A Demon-Possessed Man and a Herd of Pigs
51They went to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes.[] 2As soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs to meet him. 3The man lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he pulled the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces. Nobody had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was constantly crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down in front of him. 7He cried out with a loud voice, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you to swear by God not to torment me.” 8For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “because we are many.” 10He begged Jesus repeatedly that he would not send them out of the region.
11There was a large herd of pigs there feeding on the hillside. 12The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we may enter them.”
13Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits went out and entered the pigs. Then the herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. 14Those who were feeding the pigs ran and reported this in the city and the countryside.
People came to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen what had occurred described for these people what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and they told them about the pigs. 17They began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to stay with Jesus. 19But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go home to your people, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.”
20The man left and began to proclaim in the Decapolis everything Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.
The Daughter of Jairus
21When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him near the sea. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and repeatedly pleaded with him, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”
24Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following him, pressing tightly against him. 25A certain woman who was there had a discharge of blood for twelve years. 26She had suffered much under the care of many physicians and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. 27When she heard what was being said about Jesus, she went up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe. 28She said, “If I just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30At that moment, Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
31His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing tightly against you and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
32Nevertheless he kept looking around to see who had done this. 33The woman was trembling with fear since she knew what had happened to her. She came forward, fell down in front of him, and told him the whole truth.
34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your suffering.”
35While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue ruler's house arrived, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
36But when Jesus heard this report, he told the synagogue ruler, “Don't be afraid. Only believe.” 37He did not allow anyone to follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38They went into the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus saw a commotion with people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
40They laughed at him. But after he put everyone out, he took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41Grasping the hand of the child, he said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (When translated, that means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”) 42Immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) They were completely and utterly amazed. 43Then he gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and he told them to give her something to eat.

Footnotes

  • 5:1 Some witnesses to the text read Gadarenes; others have Gergesenes.