David in Saul’s Service

14 ^lNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^mand a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants ⁿwho are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will ^oplay it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, ^pa man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^qand the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^rwho is with the sheep.” 20 ^sAnd Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul ^tand entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And ^uwhenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^oand played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

1 ^uThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.¹ 2 And when Jesus² had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 ^vHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and ^wfell down before him. 7 And ^xcrying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^ySon of ^zthe Most High God? ^aI adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is ^bLegion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed³ man, the one who had had ^cthe legion, sitting there, ^dclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has ^la spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and ^mthey were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O ⁿfaithless generation, ⁿhow long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it ^oconvulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But ^pif you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, ^p“‘If you can’! ^qAll things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out¹ and said, “I believe; ^rhelp my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that ^sa crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ^t“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and ^oconvulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus ^utook him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had ^ventered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”²

27 When Jesus¹ had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house ^cbut among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he ^dcried out and fell down before him and said ^dwith a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^eSon of ^fthe 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 many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ^ginto the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, ^h“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into ⁱthe abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^jthe lake and drowned.

34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting ^kat the feet of Jesus, ^lclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed² man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes ^masked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and ⁿdeclare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.