he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.
But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. The report of this went out into all that land.
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Matthew 9:24-26 sits inside this longer paragraph.
When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd in noisy disorder, he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.
But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose. The report of this went out into all that land.
Parallel Translations
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he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.
But when the crowd was put out, he entered in, took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
The report of this went out into all that land.
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he sayde vnto them: Get you hence for the mayde is not deed but slepeth. And they laughed hym to scorne.
Assone as the people were put forthe he went in and toke her by the hond and the mayde arose.
And this was noysed through out all that lande.
Show all 3 translations
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He said vnto them, Get you hence: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorne.
And when the multitude were put foorth, hee went in and tooke her by the hande, and the maide arose.
And this bruite went throughout all that lande.
Cross-references (21)
- Acts 20:10 (v24) Paul went down and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.”
- Mark 9:27 (v25) But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.
- Matthew 4:24 (v26) The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments,…
- Mark 1:31 (v25) He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her immediately, and she served them.
- Mark 5:41 (v25) Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!”
Show all 21 cross-references
- Luke 8:54 (v25) But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!”
- John 11:11-13 (v24) He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out…
- 2 Kings 4:32-36 (v25) When Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and lying on his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door on them…
- Isaiah 49:7 (v24) Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers:…
- Isaiah 53:3 (v24) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face;…
- Matthew 14:1-2 (v26) At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from…
- Matthew 27:39-43 (v24) Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save…
- Mark 1:45 (v26) But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but…
- Mark 8:23 (v25) He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spat on his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he…
- John 11:4 (v24) But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”
- Acts 9:40 (v24) Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw…
- Acts 9:40-41 (v25) Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw…
- 1 Kings 17:18-24 (v24) She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!” He…
- Psalms 22:6-7 (v24) But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips.…
- Mark 6:14 (v26) King Herod heard this, for his name had become known, and he said, “John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers…
- Acts 26:26 (v26) For the king knows of these things, to whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him, for this…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–26 24 He said unto them, Give place: for the…
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
Ver. 24. And they laughed him to scorn] This is daily done by the mad world, quite beside itself in point of salvation. They hear and jeer. God will laugh at their destruction.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Mark saith, Mar 5:39,40, When he was come in,…
Mark saith, Mar 5:39,40, When he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and mother, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. Luke saith, Luk 8:51-53, When he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, ( that is, into the chamber where the dead body lay), save Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. The history is plain: when Christ came into the house, there was a mixed noise of fiddlers or pipers, and mourners. Christ coming in, with Peter, James, and John, asked them what they made such ado for? The maid was not dead, but asleep. They apprehending that she was dead, mocked him. He desires to go into the chamber where the corpse lay; but would suffer none but Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the maid, to go in with him; the reason appeareth afterward, because he did not desire that this miracle should be presently published. The only question is, in what sense our Saviour saith, she is not dead, but sleepeth; whereas they knew she was dead.
1. Some think our Saviour speaketh ambiguously, for death is in Scripture often called a sleep, 1Ki 14:20; Joh 11:11; Act 7:60; 1Co 15:6 with respect to the resurrection.
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2. Others think that our Saviour speaks ironically, knowing that some of them would so diminish the miracle, to calumniate him, or abate his reputation. But it is a better answer to say that he speaks with reference to their opinion; she is not dead in that sense you judge her dead, so as she shall not come to life before the resurrection; she is not so dead but she shall come to life again; as he said to Mary concerning Lazarus, Joh 11:23.
3. Or, to me she is not dead.
4. Or shall we say, as soon as Christ was come into the house, who is the resurrection, and the life, Joh 11:25, her soul again returned into her body, which though to their appearance it was separated from her body, was not yet fixed in its eternal mansion?
In what sense soever he spake it, they judged it ridiculous, and laughed him to scorn.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–26 But when the people were put forth,.... Either out…
But when the people were put forth,.... Either out of the house or room, by Christ, or, at least, by his orders: which was done, partly because he was desirous it might be kept a secret, as much as possible, and to shew, that he did not affect popular applause; and partly, because they were unworthy to be admitted spectators of such a wondrous action, who had treated him with so much scorn and contempt:
he went in; not alone, but with his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, who were taken in to be witnesses of this resurrection, and the parents of the child; who were so very solicitous for its life, under whose power she was, and to whom she was to be restored:
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and took her by the hand; just as one would do to awake another out of sleep; and, perhaps, in compliance with her father's request, to lay his hand upon her: and though the touch of a dead body, according to the law, Num 19:16 was defiling; yet this did not defile him, any more than his touching the leper, or the profluvious woman's touching his clothes; for these actions produced supernatural effects, which came not under the cognizance of the law. His taking her by the hand, was not all that he did, but he called, as to a person asleep, and said unto her these words, "Talitha cumi", as recorded by Mark, and are also in Munster's Hebrew Gospel of Matthew; and which, in the Syriac language, signify, "maiden, arise"; and immediately, directly, as soon as ever he had thus said,
the maid arose, as out of sleep; she revived, her soul came to her again, and she got off of the bed, and walked about house, and food was ordered to be given to her. All which most fully demonstrated that she was really restored to life, which was as clear a case, as that before she was really dead.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Withdraw - There is no need of you now;…
Withdraw - There is no need of you now; for the maid is not dead - Her life is not at an end; but sleepeth - This is only a temporary suspension of sense and motion, which should rather be termed sleep than death.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Verse 24. The maid is not dead, but sleepeth]…
Verse 24. The maid is not dead, but sleepeth] That is, she is not dead so as to continue under the power of death; but shall be raised from it as a, person is from natural sleep.
They laughed him to scorn.] κατεγελων αυτον, they ridiculed him; from κατα, intensive, and γελαω, I laugh: - they grinned a ghastly smile, expressive of the contempt they felt for his person and knowledge. People of the world generally ridicule those truths which they neither comprehend nor love, and deride those who publish them; but a faithful minister of God, (copying the example of Christ,) keeps on his way, and does the work of his Lord and Master.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Mat 9:24. He said unto them, Give place —…
Mat 9:24. He said unto them, Give place — Mark, whose narrative is more particular, says, When he was come in, namely, into the house, he said unto them, Why make ye this ado and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. — As the company at the ruler’s house, when Jesus entered it, were employed in making such lamentation for the damsel as they used to make for the dead, it is evident that they all believed she was actually and finally departed: and when Jesus told them she was not dead, he did not mean that her soul was not separated from her body, but that it was not to continue in a state of separation from it; which was the idea the mourners affixed to the word death. His words, it must be observed, were spoken to those who were preparing for her interment, and performing the funeral rites belonging to it, and therefore only intimate that she was not so dead that they needed to make these preparations. He therefore expresses her state by saying that she slept, using the word in a sense somewhat analogous to that which the Jews put upon it when, in speaking of a person’s death, they call it sleep, to intimate their belief in his existence and happiness in the other world, together with their hope of his future resurrection to a new life. On this occasion, the phrase was made use of with singular propriety to insinuate that, notwithstanding the maid was really dead, she should not long continue so. Jesus was going to raise her from the dead, and would do it with as much ease as they awaked one that was asleep. And they laughed him to scorn — Luke adds, knowing that she was dead; for they had seen all the marks and proofs of death about her. And yet, if they had given themselves time to consider, they might have understood that he spake in this manner to intimate that he was going to raise her from the dead; and the rather, as he had been sent for by her parents to heal her miraculously. But his words were ambiguous, and the mourners naturally took them in the wrong sense. Thus, while Jesus predicted the miracle, to show that it did not happen by accident, he, at the same time, delivered himself in such terms as modestly to avoid the reputation that might have accrued to him from so stupendous a work.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24–25 The girl is not dead. Christ, by saving so,…
The girl is not dead. Christ, by saving so, insinuated that she was not dead in such a manner as they imagined; that is, so as to remain dead, but presently to return to life, as if she had been only asleep. (Witham) --- But sleepeth. In the xi. chapter of St. John, Christ again calls death a sleep. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Thus he teaches us to be no longer in dread of death, since it was reduced to the condition of a sleep. If you believe this, why do you vainly weep? why do you afflict yourself? this the Gentiles do, who have not faith. Your child is asleep, not dead, is gone to a place of rest, not to destruction. Therefore the royal prophet says, "Turn, O my soul, into thy rest, for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee." (Psalm cxiv.) If then it is a kindness, why should you weep? what else could you do at the death of an adversary, an enemy, the object of your greatest aversion? (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxii.) --- Christ here asserts that the girl is only asleep, to shew that it was easy for him to raise her from death as from sleep. (Theophylactus)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v24 24. is not dead, but sleepeth] These words are…
24. is not dead, but sleepeth] These words are reported without variation by the three Synoptists; it is open to question whether they ought not to be taken literally. The word for sleepeth (καθεύδει) does not bear the metaphorical force of κοιμᾶσθαι; and the statement of Jesus is very explicit.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24–26 He said unto them, Give place; withdraw (anacwreite). This…
He said unto them, Give place; withdraw (anacwreite). This is no room for mourners. (cf. Act_9:40) For the maid; damsel (Revised Version). to assimilate this and ver. 25 to the other passages where korasion is found. Is not dead, but sleepeth. Our Lord looks forward to the result of his coming. So also probably Act_20:10. To take our Lord"s words here as a literal statement of a present fact, meaning that she was only in a trance, is to contradict the words of the messenger (parallel passages), our next succeeding clause, and Luke"s addition to it, "knowing that she was dead." And they laughed him to scorn. Bengel suggests that they were afraid of losing the payment for their work.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv24–26 24. Give place, for the maid is not dead,…
24. Give place, for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. The reality of the death is not denied, but only the fact implicitly assumed, that death will be followed by a resurrection, as sleep is by an awakening. Laughed him to scorn. The company of mourners was certain that the child was dead and, understanding neither the language nor the power of Jesus, laughed in derision.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This completes the account of Jesus bringing the daughter of the Jewish official back to life.
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General Information:
Verse 26 is a summary statement that describes the result of Jesus raising this girl from the dead.
When the crowd had been put outside
This can be stated in active form. AT: "After Jesus had sent the crowd outside" or "After the family had sent the people outside" (See: Active or Passive)
got up
"got out of bed." This is the same meaning as in Matthew 8:15.
The news about this spread into all that region
"The people of that whole region heard about it" or "The people who saw that the girl was alive started telling everyone in the whole area about it"
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v24 9:24 Though she was physically dead, from Jesus’ perspective…
9:24 Though she was physically dead, from Jesus’ perspective the girl was just asleep—she would soon be raised back to life (see Isa 26:19; John 11:11-14, 25; 1 Thes 4:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.