A Dying Girl and a Suffering Woman

21Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. It landed at the other side. There a large crowd gathered around him. 22Then a man named Jairus came. He was a synagogue ruler. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He begged Jesus, “Please come. My little daughter is dying. Place your hands on her to heal her. Then she will live.” 24So Jesus went with him.

A large group of people followed. They crowded around him. 25A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. 26She had suffered a great deal, even though she had gone to many doctors. She had spent all the money she had. But she was getting worse, not better. 27Then she heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. 28She thought, “I just need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.” 29Right away her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that her suffering was over.

30At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31“You see the people,” his disciples answered. “They are crowding against you. And you still ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32But Jesus kept looking around. He wanted to see who had touched him.

33Then the woman came and fell at his feet. She knew what had happened to her. She was shaking with fear. But she told him the whole truth.

34He said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering.”

35While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus. He was the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36But Jesus didn’t listen to them. He told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

37He let only Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, follow him. 38They came to the home of the synagogue ruler. There Jesus saw a lot of confusion. People were crying and sobbing loudly. 39He went inside. Then he said to them, “Why all this confusion and sobbing? The child is not dead. She is only sleeping.” 40But they laughed at him.

He made them all go outside. He took only the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him. And he went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand. Then he said to her, “Talitha koum!” This means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” 42The girl was 12 years old. Right away she stood up and walked around. They were totally amazed at this. 43Jesus gave strict orders not to let anyone know what had happened. And he told them to give her something to eat.