Mark 5:1-20 - A Demon-Possessed Gerasene Healed

¹ They came to the 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 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, “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.

²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is east of Galilee. ²⁷ Now when Jesus stepped out on land, He was met by a man from the city [of Gerasa] who was possessed with demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!” ²⁹ Now He was [already] commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him [violently] many times; and he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

³⁰ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ They continually begged Him not to command them to go into the abyss.

³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the mountain. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. ³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the city and out in the country. ³⁵ And people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind (mentally healthy); and they were frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. ³⁷ Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.” So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.