Mark 5:39

He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus enters the synagogue leader’s house and addresses the mourners gathered around the deceased child after observing their loud weeping and commotion outside. He speaks to the crowd present at that moment.

The words — The text records Jesus asking τί θορυβεῖσθε καὶ κλαίετε (ti thorubeisthe kai klaiete), literally "Why are you making noise and weeping?" He then states the child is not dead but asleep, using sleep as the descriptive term for the child's condition.

The thread — This language appears in Daniel 12:2 where the dead are described as sleeping in the dust before awakening, and in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 where believers are said to be awake or asleep. Paul uses similar phrasing in Acts 20:10 to reassure a grieving crowd that a young man is still alive.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept Jesus' declaration as a factual correction of the mourners' assumptions. It demands that observers halt their rituals when the speaker's word contradicts the visible evidence of death.

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

καὶkaiAnd εἰσελθὼνeiselthōnhaving entered λέγειlegeiHe says αὐτοῖς·autoisto them;τίtiWhy θορυβεῖσθεthorubeisthemake you commotion καὶkaiand κλαίετε;klaieteweep?τὸtoThe παιδίονpaidionchild οὐκouknot ἀπέθανενapethanenis dead ἀλλὰallabut καθεύδει.katheudeisleeps.

King James Version

And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

Cross-references

Acts 20:10 But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, and embraced him. “Do not be alarmed!” he said. “He is still alive!”
1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
Daniel 12:2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
John 11:11 After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”
1 Corinthians 11:30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.