1 They arrived at the other side of the sea in the territory of the Gerasenes.

2 Just as Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him.

3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain.

4 He had often been restrained with shackles and chains but had snapped the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one could tame him.

5 Night and day he kept screaming among the tombs and on the mountainsides and kept cutting himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down in front of him,

7 screaming in a loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I command you in the name of God not to torture me!"

8 For Jesus had been saying to him,"Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"

9 Then Jesus asked him,"What's your name?"He said to him, "My name is Legion, because there are many of us."

10 He kept pleading with Jesus not to send them out of the territory.

11 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing on a hillside nearby.

12 So the demons begged him, "Send us among the pigs, so that we can go into them!"

13 So he let them do this. The unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned there.

14 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they reported what had happened in the city and countryside. So the people went to see what had happened.