Mark 5:9
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“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
HEROD THINKS JESUS A RESURRECTION OF THE MURDERED BAPTIST--ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH. ( = Mat 14:1-12; Luk 9:7-9). (Mark 6:14-29) And King Herod--that is, Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Mat 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea. heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad); and he said--"unto his servants" (Mat 14:2), his councillors or court ministers. That John the Baptist was risen from the dead--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.
Open source ↗In this chapter, we have, I. Christ's casting the legion of devils out of the man possessed, and suffering them to enter into the swine (v. 1-20). II. Christ's healing the woman with the bloody issue, in the way as he was going to raise Jairus's daughter to life (v. 21-43). These three miracles we had the story of before (Mat 8:28, etc. and Mat 9:18, etc.) but more fully related here.
Open source ↗5:9 A legion was a Roman military unit of 5,000–6,000 men. Here it describes the presence of many evil spirits.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”