Mark 14:40

40 And again he came [and] found them sleeping, {for they could not keep their eyes open}, and they did not know what to reply to him.

Mark 14:40 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 14:40

And when he returned, he found them asleep again
Notwithstanding the expostulation he had used with them, the exhortation he had given them, and the danger he had suggested to them:

for their eyes were heavy:
with sleep and sorrow:

neither wist they what to answer him;
partly through confusion and shame, not knowing how to excuse themselves; and partly, through their being stupefied with sleep and grief.

Mark 14:40 In-Context

38 Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak!"

39 And again he went away [and] prayed, saying the same thing.

40 And again he came [and] found them sleeping, {for they could not keep their eyes open}, and they did not know what to reply to him.

41 And he came the third [time] and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

42 Get up, let us go! Behold, the one who is betraying me is approaching!"

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("came") has been translated as a finite verb
• [b]. Literally "for their eyes were weighed down"