Exegesis:

erchontai ‘they come’: the same people referred to in the previous verse ēlthon ‘they came.’

kai theōrousin tōn daimonizomenon ‘and they see the demon-possessed man.’

theōreō (cf. 3.11) ‘look upon,’ ‘gaze,’ ‘behold.’

ho daimonizomenos (cf. 1.33) ‘the demon-possessed man’: simply identifying the man, not stating that he was still possessed.

kathēmenon himatismenon kai sōphronounta ‘seated, clothed and sane’: the three participles describe the man.

kathēmai (cf. 2.6) ‘seated,’ i.e. as a disciple (at the feet of Jesus, Lk. 8.35).

himatizomai (only here in Mark) ‘be dressed,’ ‘be clothed’ (he had gone about naked, Lk. 8.27): from himation ‘clothes’ (cf. 2.21).

sōphroneō (only here in Mark) ‘to be of sound mind,’ ‘be sane.’

ton eschēkota ton legiōna ‘he who had the Legion’: the perfect participle here is to be translated ‘he who had had’ – since he had it no longer.

ton legiōna ‘the Legion’: it seems better to take it as a proper name (Translator’s New Testament) than as a common noun (Revised Standard Version).

kai ephobēthēsan (cf. 4.41) ‘and they were afraid.’

Translation:

Demoniac must be translated with care, so as not to imply that he was still possessed by demons. Therefore, it is often advisable to employ a phrase, e.g. ‘the man who had had the unclean spirits’ or ‘the man in whom unclean spirits had lived’ (see 1.26).

Sitting there, clothed and in his right mind are three rather diverse expressions, which must in some instances be divided into separate clause, e.g. ‘he was sitting there; he had clothes on and his thoughts were straight.’

In his right mind is rendered in a variety of ways, e.g. ‘his mind had returned’ (Amganad Ifugao), ‘his heart was sitting down’ (Tojolabal), ‘his head was healed’ (Chicahuaxtla Triqui), ‘his mind was straightened’ (Tzotzil), ‘with a clear mind again’ (Javanese), and ‘come to his senses’ (Indonesian).

The appositive phrase the man who had had the legion is in some instances better handled as a separate clause, e.g. ‘this was the man who had had the legion,’ or as interpreted by some ‘this was the man who had had the name Legion.’

For afraid see 4.40.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .