Overview
Matthew 9:24 is a verse in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
Content
In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort for this verse is: :λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἀναχωρεῖτε· οὐ γὰρ ἀπέθανε τὸ κοράσιον, ἀλλὰ καθεύδει. Καὶ κατεγέλων αὐτοῦ. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: :He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. The New International Version translates the passage as: :he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.
Analysis
Although the girl was dead (see v. 18), Jesus said that she was sleeping. Lapide gives several reasons for this response: 1) To God and to Jesus, all things live, and so she was not dead, and would be raised again at the Judgment Day. Therefore, the dead are regularly said to be sleeping in Scripture. 2) The girl was not dead in an altogether and absolutely sense, since she could be recalled to life, which was shortly about to be done. In such a sense, she was merely sleeping for a little while. Jesus also spoke of Lazarus as sleeping while he was dead.
Commentary from the Church Fathers
Chrysostom: "But Christ put forth all the pipers, but took in the parents, that it might not be said that He had healed her by any other means; and before the restoring to life He excites their expectations by His words, And he said, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth."
External links
*Other translations of Matthew 9:24 at BibleHub