Exegesis:
echōn pneuma daimoniou akathartou ‘having (i.e. with) the spirit of an unclean demon.’ The phrase looks like a contamination of pneuma akatharton ‘unclean spirit’ (cf. v. 36; 6.18; 8.29; 9.42; 11.24) and daimonion ‘devil’ (cf. v. 35; 8.27; 9.42), which are, as 9.42 shows, synonymous. daimonion never has a qualifying adjective (except ‘many’ or, ‘all’) and pneuma, when not referring to the divine or the human spirit, is always combined with akatharton.
daimonion ‘demon,’ ‘evil spirit.’
akathartos ‘unclean,’ elsewhere of cultic or moral uncleanness, but in Luke only of evil spirits.
kai anekraxen phōnē megalē ‘and he shouted in a loud voice.’ Subject is anthrōpos ‘man.’
anakrazō ‘to cry out,’ ‘to shout.’
Translation:
A man who had the spirit of an unclean demon. That this expresses demon possession is clear, but the exact meaning of the uncommon collocation is not clear, as shown in Exegesis. This makes the clause difficult to translate. Matters are worse still in languages where the rendering of ‘demon’ coincides with that of ‘(evil) spirit’ (Nieuwe Vertaling) or of ‘unclean spirit,’ or with both (Tzeltal, Bahasa Indonesia, Balinese); cf. also references on “demon” in v. 35 and on “unclean spirit” in v. 36. For a practical solution of this problem it is probably best for the translator to start from his usual rendering of demon possession and then try to expand it in such a way as to reflect the longer and more intricate wording of the Greek. In doing so he may use what is less common in the receptor language (since the Greek is uncommon), though not what is decidedly unidiomatic. This may lead to renderings such as, ‘a person with an evil, unclean spirit’ (Nieuwe Vertaling), ‘who had a bad, devilish spirit (lit. wind)’ (Sranan Tongo), “possessed by a devil, an unclean spirit” (New English Bible); or simply, ‘possessed by demons’ (Balinese). In several Indonesian languages the rendering ‘entered by a demon’ is very common; the resulting expression has become so much a technical term that the qualification ‘by a demon’ is often omitted. Cf. also on “entered” in 8.30. In Marathi a term for demon possession is ‘to be touched,’ and in Tboli one can refer to it by a euphemism (used e.g. in 8.2), ‘that which they always say, “Someone (or something) is leading him” .’
Cried out with a loud voice, or, ‘shouted loudly’ (Willibrord), ‘shrieking he shouted’ (Balinese); and cf. on “exclaimed with a loud cry” in 1.42.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.