Luke 8:26-39

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

²⁶ Then they came to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷ Now when Jesus stepped out on land, there met Him a certain man out of the town who had [was possessed by] demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but in the tombs.

²⁸ And when he saw Jesus, he raised a deep (terrible) cry [from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in terror] and shouted loudly, What have You [to do] with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [^[a]What have we in common?] I beg You, do not torment me!

²⁹ For Jesus was already commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had snatched and held him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness (desert).

³⁰ Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for many demons had entered him.

³¹ And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit).^(A)

³² Now a great herd of swine was there feeding on the hillside; and [the demons] begged Him to give them leave to enter these. And He allowed them [to do so].

³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep cliff into the lake and were drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the town and in the country.

³⁵ And [people] went out to see what had occurred, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right (sound) mind; and they were seized with alarm and fear.

³⁶ And those [also] who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was restored [to health].

³⁷ Then all the people of the country surrounding the Gerasenes’ district asked [Jesus] to depart from them, for they were possessed and suffering with dread and terror; so He entered a boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging and ^[b]praying that he might accompany Him and be with Him, but [Jesus] sent him away, saying,

³⁹ Return to your home, and recount [the story] of how many and great things God has done for you. And [the man] departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.