The Demoniac Cured

²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. ²⁸ Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “^[a]What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. ³¹ They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter ^[b]the swine. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. ³⁵ The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been ^[c]made well. ³⁷ And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[d]accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

⁴⁰ And as Jesus returned, the ^[e]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an ^[f]official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an ^[g]only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[h]cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the ^[i]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has ^[j]made you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[k]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled. ⁴ Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ “Oholah played the harlot ^[a]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her harlotries on them, all of whom were the choicest ^[b]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself. ⁸ She did not forsake her harlotries from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^[c]men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their ^[d]lust on her. ⁹ Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the ^[e]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they slew her with the sword. Thus she became a ^[f]byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the ^[g]Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. ¹³ I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took ^[h]the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, ¹⁵ girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^[i]like the ^[j]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ^16 [k]When she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ The ^[l]Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, ^[m]she became disgusted with them. ¹⁸ She uncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then ^[n]I became disgusted with her, as ^[o]I had become disgusted with her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses. ²¹ Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when ^[p]the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.

²² “Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord ^[q]God, ‘Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom ^[r]you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the ^[s]Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^[t]Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and ^[u]men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ They will come against you with weapons, chariots and ^[v]wagons, and with a company of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. ²⁵ I will set My jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your ^[w]survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and your ^[x]survivors will be consumed by the fire. ²⁶ They will also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ²⁷ Thus I will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸ For thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom ^[y]you were alienated. ²⁹ They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.’ ³² Thus says the Lord God,

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. ³⁵ Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.’”

³⁶ Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to ^[aa]them as food. ³⁸ Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

⁴⁰ “Furthermore, ^[ab]they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came—for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments; ⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set My incense and My oil. ⁴² The sound of a ^[ac]carefree multitude was with her; and drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the ^[ad]common sort. And they put bracelets on ^[ae]the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, ‘^[af]Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?’ ^44 [ag]But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

⁴⁶ “For thus says the Lord God, ‘Bring up a company against them and give them over to terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ The company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will slay their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and not commit ^[ah]lewdness as you have done. ⁴⁹ Your lewdness ^[ai]will be requited upon you, and you will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols; thus you will know that I am the Lord God.’”