Mark 5 : 8

The Greek imperfect ἔλεγεν ('he was saying') is rendered periphrastically in Syriac with ܐܡܪ ܗܘܐ (perfect + auxiliary ܗܘܐ), the standard Syriac construction for durative/iterative past. The Latin Dicebat captures the same imperfective force in a single synthetic form.

All three name the 'unclean spirit', but the constituent order differs: Greek and Latin place the spirit-phrase immediately after the imperative (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον / spiritus immunde), whereas the Peshitta defers ܪܘܚܐ ܛܢܦܐ to the very end of the clause, after the prepositional phrase. The Greek doubly articulates the attributive (τὸ ... τὸ ἀκάθαρτον), a feature lost in both Latin and Syriac, and the vocative force is signalled morphologically in Greek/Latin but contextually in Syriac.