Mark 5:1–20

Demons Driven Out by the Master

5Then ^wthey came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. ^x2As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean ^yspirit ^zcame out of the tombs ^aand met Him. ³He lived in the tombs. ^bNo one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains ^c— ⁴because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed ^dthe shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue ^ehim. ⁵And always, night ^fand day, he was crying out among the tombs ^gand in the mountains ^hand 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, ⁱJesus, Son ^jof the Most High God? ^kI beg ^lYou before God, don’t torment ^mme!” ⁸For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean ⁿspirit!” ^o

⁹“What is your name?” He asked him.

“My name is Legion,” ^pqhe 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 ^rwas there, feeding ^son the hillside. ¹²The demons ^tbegged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” ¹³And He gave them permission. Then the unclean ^uspirits ^vcame 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 ^wran off ^xand 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 ^yby the legion, ^zsitting there, dressed and in his right mind; ^aand they were afraid. ^b16The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed ^cman 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 ^dhas done ^efor you and how He has had mercy on you.” ²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim ^fin the Decapolis ^ghow much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed. ^h