Luke 8:53

53 And they began laughing at him, [because they] knew that she was dead.

Luke 8:53 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:53

And they laughed him to scorn
The servants, neighbours, and relations, the pipers, and mourning women: these, from weeping for the dead, fell to laughing at Christ, having him and his words in the utmost derision:

knowing that she was dead:
some of them having been employed in laying her out, and all of them having seen her, and were satisfied, and thoroughly assured, that she was actually dead, as ever any person was, as she doubtless was; but they were ignorant in what sense Christ meant she was not dead, but asleep; (See Gill on Matthew 9:24). (See Gill on Mark 5:39).

Luke 8:53 In-Context

51 Now [when he] came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and mother of the child.

52 And they were all weeping and mourning for her, but he said, "Do not weep! For she is not dead, but is sleeping."

53 And they began laughing at him, [because they] knew that she was dead.

54 But he took her hand [and] called, saying, "Child, get up."

55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately, and he ordered [something] to be given to her to eat.

Footnotes

• [a]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began laughing")
• [b]. *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("knew") which is understood as causal