5They went across the Sea of Galilee to the area of the Gerasenes. ²Jesus got out of the boat. A man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³The man lived in the tombs. No one could keep him tied up anymore. Not even a chain could hold him. ⁴His hands and feet had often been chained. But he tore the chains apart. And he broke the iron cuffs on his ankles. No one was strong enough to control him. ⁵Night and day he screamed among the tombs and in the hills. He cut himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran to him. He fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷He shouted at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? Promise before God that you won’t hurt me!” ⁸This was because Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

⁹Then Jesus asked the demon, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied. “There are many of us.” ¹⁰And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹²The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs. Let us go into them.” ¹³Jesus allowed it. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. There were about 2,000 pigs in the herd. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned.

¹⁴Those who were tending the pigs ran off. They told the people in the town and countryside what had happened. The people went out to see for themselves.

¹⁵Then they came to Jesus. They saw the man who had been controlled by many demons. He was sitting there. He was now dressed and thinking clearly. All this made the people afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen it told them what had happened to the man. They told about the pigs as well. 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. ¹⁹Jesus did not let him. He said, “Go home to your family. Tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Tell them how kind he has been to you.”

²⁰So the man went away. In the area known as the Ten Cities, he began to tell how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

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