Mark 5:8

Jesus evidently addressed the leading demon. The Greek imperfect tense can mean that Jesus had been repeatedly commanding the demons to depart, as the NASB and NIV translations imply. However, it can also mean that something was about to follow. In this case a translation such as the AV, "For He said unto him," is better. Apparently in Mark 5:8 Mark gave us the reason for the demons’ request in Mark 5:7 even though Jesus did not command the demons to depart until Mark 5:13.