Luke 8:26-39

New American Standard Bible

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[a](B)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(D)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(E)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[b]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(F)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been ^(H)demon-possessed had been ^[c]made well. ³⁷ And all the ^[d]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (I)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[e]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.