Mark 5

Moffatt(i) 1 Then they reached the opposite side of the sea, the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And as soon as he stepped out of the boat a man from the tombs came to meet him, a man with an unclean spirit 3 who dwelt among the tombs; by this time no one could bind him, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with fetters and chains and had snapped the chains and broken the fetters — nobody could tame him. 5 All night and day among the tombs and the hills he shrieked and gashed himself with stones. 6 On catching sight of Jesus from afar he ran and knelt before him, 7 shrieking aloud, "Jesus, son of God most High, what business have you with me? By God, I adjure you, do not torture me." 8 (For he had said, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.") 9 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he said, "there is a host of us." 10 And they begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a large drove of swine was grazing there on the hillside; 12 so the spirits begged him saying, "Send us into the swine, that we may enter them," 13 And Jesus gave them leave. Then out came the unclean spirits and entered the swine, and the drove rushed down the steep slope into the sea (there were about two thousand of them) and in the sea they were drowned. 14 The herdsmen fled and reported it to the town and the hamlets. So the people came to see what had happened, 15 and when they reached Jesus they saw the lunatic sitting down, clothed and in his sober senses — the man who had been possessed by 'Legion.' That frightened them. 16 And those who had seen it related to them what had happened to the lunatic and the swine. 17 Then they began begging Jesus to leave their district. 18 As he was stepping into the boat the lunatic begged that he might accompany him; 19 but he said, "Go home to your own people, and report to them all the Lord has done for you and how he took pity on you." 20 So he went off and began to proclaim throughout Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; it made everyone astonished. 21 Now when Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side again, a large crowd gathered round him; so he remained beside the sea. 22 A president of the synagogue called Jairus came up, and on catching sight of him fell at his feet 23 with earnest entreaties. "My little girl is dying," he said, "do come and lay your hands on her that she may recover and live," 24 So Jesus went away with him. Now a large crowd followed him; they pressed round him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years — 26 she had suffered a great deal under a number of doctors and had spent all her means but was none the better; in fact she was rather worse. 27 She heard about Jesus, got behind him in the crowd, and touched his robe; 28 "if I can touch even his clothes," she said to herself, "I will recover." 29 And at once the hemorrhage stopped, and she felt in her body that she was cured of her complaint. 30 Jesus was at once conscious that some healing virtue had passed from him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 His disciples said to him, "You see the crowd are pressing round you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" 32 But he kept looking round to see who had done it, 33 and the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came forward in fear and trembling and fell down before him, telling him all the truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be free from your complaint." 35 He was still speaking when a message came from the house of the synagogue-president, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher to come any further?" 36 Instantly Jesus ignored the remark and told the president, "Have no fear, only believe." 37 He would not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 So they reached the president's house, where he saw a tumult of people wailing and making shrill lament; 39 and on entering he asked them, "Why make a noise and wail? The child is not dead but asleep." 40 They laughed at him. However, he put them all outside and taking the father and mother of the child as well as his companions he went in to where the child was lying; 41 then he took the child's hand and said to her, "Talitha koum" — which may be translated, "Little girl, I am telling you to rise." 42 The girl got up at once and began to walk (she was twelve years old); and at once they were lost in utter amazement. 43 But he strictly forbade them to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.