They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
- BSB And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.
- NKJV And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
- NASB And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.
- NLT But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The mourners laugh at Jesus, certain the girl is dead. Their ridicule confirms the reality of her death.
Overview
The crowd's scornful laughter shows they knew she had genuinely died. Their mockery, far from undermining the miracle, establishes that no mere recovery follows. It heightens the wonder of what Jesus is about to do.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 53:3He 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; and we didn’t respect him.
- Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
- John 19:33–35but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs.
- Ps 22:7All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
- Job 12:4I am like one who is a joke to his neighbor, I, who called on God, and he answered. The just, the blameless man is a joke.
- Job 17:2Surely there are mockers with me. My eye dwells on their provocation.
- John 11:39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
- Mark 15:44–45Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 8:53 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.