Chapter 5

5:1Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him. 3He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him anymore-even with chains- 4because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5And always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones.
6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him. 7And 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!" 8For He had told him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"
9"What is your name?" He asked him.
"My name is Legion," he answered Him, "because we are many." 10And he kept begging Him not to send them out of the region.
11Now a large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. 12The demons begged Him, "Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them." 13And He gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there. 14The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. 15They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed by the legion, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. 17Then they began to beg Him to leave their region.
18As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. 19But He would not let him; instead, He told him, "Go back 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." 20So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.
21When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea. 22One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet 23and kept begging Him, "My little daughter is at death's door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live."
24So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. 25A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years 26had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. 28For she said, "If I can just touch His robes, I'll be made well!" 29Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.
30At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My robes?"
31His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"
32So He was looking around to see who had done this. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. 34"Daughter," He said to her, "your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be free from your affliction."
35While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?"
36But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only believe." 37He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James's brother. 38They came to the leader's house, and He saw a commotion-people weeping and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep."
40They started laughing 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. 41Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. 43Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and said that she should be given something to eat.