MarkChapter 5

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¹They went across the sea to the area of the Gerasenes. ²Jesus got out of the boat. Right away a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³This man lived in the tombs. No one could hold him down anymore, not even with chains. ⁴People had often tied him up with chains on his hands and feet. But he broke the chains apart and smashed the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to control him. ⁵Night and day he kept screaming among the tombs and in the hills. He cut himself with stones. ⁶The man saw Jesus from far away. He ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷He shouted in a loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God's name, I beg you, don't torture me!" ⁸He said this because Jesus had already told him, "Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!" ⁹"What is your name?" Jesus asked. "My name is Legion," he answered, "because there are many of us."a ¹⁰He begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of that area. ¹¹A large herd of pigs was eating on the hillside nearby. ¹²So the demons begged Jesus, "Send us to the pigs. Let us go into them." ¹³Jesus let them go. The unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea. There were about 2,000 pigs, and they drowned in the water. ¹⁴The men taking care of the pigs ran off. They told the news in the town and in the countryside. So the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus. There they saw the man who had been controlled by the legion of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on, and his mind was clear. And the people were afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the man with demons. They told about the pigs too. ¹⁷Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area. ¹⁸Jesus was getting into the boat. The man who had been controlled by demons begged to go with him. ¹⁹But Jesus would not let him. "Go home to your own people," he said. "Tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Tell them how he has shown you mercy." ²⁰So the man went away. He began to tell people all over the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.b ²¹Jesus went back across the sea by boat to the other side. A large crowd gathered around him by the sea. ²²A leader of the synagogue named Jairus came there. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³He begged Jesus over and over. "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her. Then she will be healed and live." ²⁴So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pushed in all around him. ²⁵A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered a lot from many doctors. She had spent all her money, but it did not help. Instead, she only got worse. ²⁷She heard about Jesus. So she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. ²⁸She kept telling herself, "If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹Right away her bleeding stopped. She could feel in her body that she was healed of her suffering. ³⁰At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" ³¹His disciples answered, "You see the crowd pushing in all around you. And you ask, 'Who touched me?'" ³²But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³The woman knew what had happened to her. She came and fell down in front of him, shaking with fear. She told him the whole truth. ³⁴"Daughter," Jesus said, "your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering." ³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the Teacher anymore?" ³⁶Jesus heard what they said. He told Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." ³⁷He did not let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸They came to the home of the synagogue leader. Jesus saw a lot of noise and confusion. People were crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went inside and asked, "Why all this noise and crying? The child is not dead. She is only sleeping." ⁴⁰But they laughed at him. Jesus sent them all outside. Then he took the child's father and mother and his own friends. He went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said, "Talitha koum!" That means, "Little girl, I tell you, get up!" ⁴²Right away the girl stood up and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. At once everyone was completely amazed. ⁴³Jesus gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this. Then he told them to give her something to eat.