Luke 8:26-56

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus Frees a Man From Evil Spirits^(A)

²⁶ Jesus and his followers sailed on across the lake. They sailed to the area where the Gerasene people live, across from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus got out of the boat, a man from that town came to him. This man had demons inside him. For a long time he had worn no clothes. He did not live in a house but in the caves where the dead are buried.

^28-29 The demon inside the man had often seized him, and he had been put in jail with his hands and feet in chains. But he would always break the chains. The demon inside him would force him to go out to the places where no one lived. Jesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. When the man saw Jesus, he fell down before him, shouting loudly, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, don’t punish me!”

³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

The man answered, “Legion.”^[a] (He said his name was “Legion” because many demons had gone into him.) ³¹ The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.^{[b] 32} On that hill there was a big herd of pigs eating. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So he allowed them to do this. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of pigs ran down the hill into the lake, and all were drowned.

³⁴ The men who were caring for the pigs ran away and told the story in the fields and in the town. ³⁵ People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man sitting there at the feet of Jesus. The man had clothes on and was in his right mind again; the demons were gone. This made the people afraid. ³⁶ The men who saw these things happen told the others all about how Jesus made the man well. ³⁷ All those who lived in the area around Gerasa asked Jesus to go away because they were afraid.

So Jesus got into the boat to go back to Galilee. ³⁸ The man he had healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Go back home and tell people what God did for you.”

So the man went all over town telling what Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman^(B)

⁴⁰ When Jesus went back to Galilee, the people welcomed him. Everyone was waiting for him. ^41-42 A man named Jairus came to him. He was a leader of the synagogue. He had only one daughter. She was twelve years old, and she was dying. So Jairus bowed down at the feet of Jesus and begged him to come to his house.

While Jesus was going to Jairus’ house, the people crowded all around him. ⁴³ A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on doctors,^[c] but no doctor was able to heal her. ⁴⁴ The woman came behind Jesus and touched the bottom of his coat. At that moment, her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ Then Jesus said, “Who touched me?”

They all said they had not touched him. And Peter said, “Master, people are all around you, pushing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me. I felt power go out from me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she could not hide, she came forward, shaking. She bowed down before Jesus. While everyone listened, she told why she touched him. Then she said that she was healed immediately when she touched him. ⁴⁸ Jesus said to her, “My daughter, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said, “Your daughter has died! Don’t bother the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ Jesus heard this and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid! Just believe and your daughter will be well.”

⁵¹ Jesus went to the house. He let only Peter, John, James, and the girl’s father and mother go inside with him. ⁵² Everyone was crying and feeling sad because the girl was dead. But Jesus said, “Don’t cry. She is not dead. She is only sleeping.”

⁵³ The people laughed at him, because they knew that the girl was dead. ⁵⁴ But Jesus held her hand and called to her, “Little girl, stand up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit came back into her, and she stood up immediately. Jesus said, “Give her something to eat.” ⁵⁶ The girl’s parents were amazed. He told them not to tell anyone about what happened.