Mark 5:8

The phrase "ἔλεγεν γὰρ αὐτῷ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον Ἔξελθε ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου" can be understood in two ways due to the flexibility of Greek word order.

1. Default Reading: The unclean spirit, which is in the nominative case (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον), is the subject of the sentence. The phrase can be translated as, "For the unclean spirit was saying to him, 'Come out of the man.'" In this interpretation, the spirit is the one speaking and commanding the action.

2. Alternative Reading: The phrase can also be understood in a way where the subject "the unclean spirit" is positioned after the verb for emphasis or stylistic reasons. In this case, the translation would be, "For he was saying to him, 'Come out, the unclean spirit, from the man.'" Here, "he" refers to the speaker (likely the exorcist), and the phrase emphasizes the spirit's expulsion.

This flexibility is possible because of Greek's reliance on case endings (such as nominative for the subject), allowing for rearranged word order without changing the core meaning.

But, if we were to give the benefit of the doubt as to the correct order, there remains another problem. In Classical/Koine Greek, it is unusual to have a definite article with the vocative, especially in direct address. The vocative case is typically used without the definite article, unless there is some kind of emphasis or stylistic reason for it. Further, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον ("the unclean spirit") in the context of a vocative imperative does not fit. The vocative would typically be πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (without the article) when directly addressing the unclean spirit, especially in an imperative command like "Come out!" (Ἔξελθε).

Was he really saying "Come out! the Unclean Spirit!"?