Bible Strands
Mark 14:37
Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus returns to His disciples in the garden after praying and finds them sleeping, asking Simon specifically if he kept watch for one hour.
The words — εὑρίσκει (heuriskei) translates literally as "He finds," and καθεύδοντας (katheudontas) means "sleeping," describing the physical state Jesus encounters.
The thread — Matthew 26:40 records the identical return and discovery of sleeping disciples, Matthew 25:5 notes delayed travelers falling asleep, and 2 Samuel 16:17 questions the loyalty of those who fail to remain with a friend.
Why it lands — It confronts the gap between spiritual intention and physical limitation, demanding honest self-assessment and vigilance rather than self-deception.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
Cross-references
- Matthew 26:40 Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
- 2 Samuel 16:17 “Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
- Matthew 25:5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
- Mark 14:29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I never will.”
- Mark 14:40 And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And they did not know what to answer Him.
- Luke 9:31 They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
- Luke 22:45 When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
- Hebrews 12:3 Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
- Jeremiah 12:5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.