John 11:12
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
American Standard Version (ASV)
The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Then his disciples said to him, Lord, if he is resting he will get well.
Webster's Revision
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleepeth he will do well.
World English Bible
The disciples therefore said, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."
English Revised Version (ERV)
The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord, if he is fallen asleep, he will recover.
Clarke's John 11:12 Bible Commentary
If he sleep, he shall do well - That is, if he sleep only, etc. Though the word sleep frequently meant death, (see Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 Corinthians 15:18, 1 Corinthians 15:20), yet, as it was an ambiguous term, the disciples appear here to have mistaken its meaning. Because, in certain acute disorders, the composing the patient to rest was a favorable sign; therefore the words, If he sleep, he shall do well, or recover, became a proverbial forth of speech among the Jews. In most diseases, sleep is a very favorable prognostic: hence that saying of Menander: -
Ὑπνος δε πασης εϚιν ὑγιεια νοσου.
Sleep is a remedy for every disease.
See Grotius here. The meaning of the disciples seems to have been this: There can be no need for thee to go into Judea to awake our friend Lazarus; he will awake time enough, and his very sleep is a presage of his recovery: therefore do not hazard thy life by going.
Barnes's John 11:12 Bible Commentary
If the sleep, he shall do well - Sleep was regarded by the Jews, in sickness, as a favorable symptom; hence it was said among them, "Sleep in sickness is a sign of recovery, because it shows that the violence of the disease has abated" (Lightfoot). This seems to have been the meaning of the disciples. They intimated that if he had this symptom, there was no need of his going into Judea to restore him.