Luke 8:22-32

22 One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they started out.
23 As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger.
24 The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, "Master, Master! We are about to die!" Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and to the stormy water; they quieted down, and there was a great calm.
25 Then he said to the disciples, "Where is your faith?" But they were amazed and afraid, and said to one another, "Who is this man? He gives orders to the winds and waves, and they obey him!"
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed on over to the territory of Gerasa, which is across the lake from Galilee.
27 As Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a man from the town who had demons in him. For a long time this man had gone without clothes and would not stay at home, but spent his time in the burial caves.
28 When he saw Jesus, he gave a loud cry, threw himself down at his feet, and shouted, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? I beg you, don't punish me!"
29 He said this because Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to go out of him. Many times it had seized him, and even though he was kept a prisoner, his hands and feet tied with chains, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon out into the desert.
30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is "Mob,' " he answered - because many demons had gone into him.
31 The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss.
32 There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he let them.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Gerasa; [some manuscripts have] Gadara [(see Mt 8.28); others have] Gergesa.
  • [b]. abyss: [It was thought that the demons were to be imprisoned in the depths of the earth until their final punishment.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.