5 So they got safely to the region of Gerasenes on the other side of the lake. 2 As Yeshua climbed out of the boat, a demon-possessed man came out of the tombs to meet him. 3 He lived in those tombs, and no one could tie him up, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been tied up in the past with shackles and chains but had always pulled the chains apart and smashed the shackles, and no one was able to subdue him. 5 All through the day and night, whether in the tombs or up in the hills, he was yelling out and hurting himself with stones.

6 So when he had seen Yeshua in the distance, he ran and as a sign of honour fell to the ground in front of him. 7 Then he called out very loudly, “What will happen between us, Yeshua, the son of the highest God? I beg you in God’s name not to torment me.” 8 Because Yeshua had already started saying, “Come out of the man you ungodly spirit!”

9 Yeshua asked, “What’s your name?”

The man answered, “My name is ‘Thousands’ because there’s many of us,” 10 and he begged Yeshua not to send them out of the country.

11 It just so happened that there was a large herd of pigs being fed on the hill nearby 12 and they begged Yeshua again saying, “Send us to the pigs so that we can enter them.” 13 Yeshua agreed to that, so the ungodly spirits came out of the man, went into the pigs, and the entire herd of some two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned.

14 The ones who had been feeding them rushed off and spread the news around in the city and the surrounding area. So the people hurried out to see what had happened. 15 When they arrived where Yeshua was, they saw the man who had been demon-possessed fully-clothed and sitting there in full control of his senses. They knew it was the man called ‘Thousands’ and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it all happen described it all to the people—what had happened both to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.

17 So then the people began asking Yeshua to go away from their region.

18 As Yeshua was climbing back into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed wanted to go with him.

19 But Yeshua wouldn’t let him and told him to head back home to his own people, and explain to them what the Master had done for him and how he had been merciful to him.

20 So he went away and shared with the people of the Ten Cities region what Yeshua had done for him, and they were all amazed.

28 And when Yeshua arrived at the country of the Gadarenes on the other side of the lake, he was met by two very dangerous demon-possessed men who were coming out of the cemetery. Because of them, some people weren’t able to travel on that road. 29 Suddenly the two men yelled out saying, “Son of God, what’s the connection between us and you? Have you come here to cause us pain before the designated time?”

30 Now there was a herd of many pigs grazing not far away from them, 31 and the demons begged Yeshua saying, “If you do drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32 And he said to them, “Depart!” So they came out and went away into the pigs, and next thing all the herd rushed down the bank into the lake and drowned in the water.

33 Then the men who had been grazing them took off, and when they got to the city they reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Soon all the city came out to meet with Yeshua, and when they found him they asked him to leave their region.

26 Then they sailed across to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 As they got out of the boat, a demon-possessed man who had come out of the city had met him there. He didn’t live in a house, but lived in a cemetery, and he wasn’t wearing a lot. 28 He yelled out when he saw Yeshua and knelt down before him, and spoke loudly, “What business do you and I have together, Yeshua, son of the highest God? I beg you, don’t torture me.” 29 He said this because Yeshua had commanded the evil spirit to come out from the man. The demon had animated him many times and he’d needed to be put in chains and shackles, but he would break them off and the demon would drive him into the wilderness.

30 “What’s your name?” Yeshua asked.

“Thousands,” he answered, because many thousands of demons had entered him 31 and now they were pleading with Yeshua not to command them to go back to the bottomless pit.

32 They could see a herd of pigs being fed on a hill, and they requested Yeshua to let them go into the pigs, and he agreed to that. 33 So the demons rushed out of the man and into the pigs, and all the pigs then rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

34 When the workers feeding the pigs saw this happen, they took off and told everyone in the nearby town and round about. 35 So lots of people went there to the edge of the lake to see for themselves, and they found the man who had been demon-possessed now dressed and sitting at Yeshua’s feet with his full faculties, and they were frightened. 36 The people who had seen it happen told the new-comers how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all those people from the Gerasenes region asked Yeshua to leave the area, because they were quite terrified, so he got back into the boat and they headed back to the other side.

38 The man who the demons had come out of had asked Yeshua if he could go with him, but Yeshua sent him away, saying, 39 “Go back to your house and tell them there about what God has done for you.”

So he went around the town telling everyone what Yeshua had done for him.