^2 (A)Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, ^(B)these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting ^[a]contempt.

⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ^[a]saints who had ^(A)fallen asleep were raised;

¹¹ This He said, and after that He *said to them, “Our ^(A)friend Lazarus ^(B)has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” ¹² The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will ^[a]recover.” ¹³ Now ^(C)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of ^[b]literal sleep. ¹⁴ So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” ^16 (D)Therefore Thomas, who is called ^[c](E)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb ^(F)four days. ¹⁸ Now ^(G)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[d]two miles off; ¹⁹ and many of ^(H)the Jews had come to ^(I)Martha and Mary, ^(J)to console them concerning their brother. ^20 (K)Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but ^(L)Mary ^[e]stayed at the house. ²¹ Martha then said to Jesus, “^(M)Lord, ^(N)if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² Even now I know that ^(O)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” ²³ Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha *said to Him, “^(P)I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “^(Q)I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me ^(R)will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are ^[f](S)the Christ, the Son of God, even ^[g](T)He who comes into the world.”

²⁸ When she had said this, she ^(U)went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “^(V)The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but ^(W)was still in the place where Martha met Him. ^31 (X)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and ^(Y)consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “^(Z)Lord, ^(AA)if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and ^(AB)the Jews who came with her also weeping, He ^(AC)was deeply moved in spirit and ^[h](AD)was troubled, ³⁴ and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus ^(AE)wept. ³⁶ So ^(AF)the Jews were saying, “See how He ^(AG)loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not this man, who ^(AH)opened the eyes of the blind man, ^[i]have kept this man also from dying?”

³⁸ So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a ^(AI)cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹ Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time ^[j]there will be a stench, for he has been dead ^(AJ)four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus *said to her, “^(AK)Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they removed the ^(AL)stone. Then Jesus ^(AM)raised His eyes, and said, “^(AN)Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² I knew that You always hear Me; but ^(AO)because of the ^[k]people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that ^(AP)You sent Me.” ⁴³ When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” ⁴⁴ The man who had died came forth, ^(AQ)bound hand and foot with wrappings, and ^(AR)his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

^45 (AS)Therefore many of the Jews ^(AT)who came to Mary, and ^(AU)saw what He had done, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went to the ^(AV)Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Conspiracy to Kill Jesus

⁴⁷ Therefore ^(AW)the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(AX)convened a ^(AY)council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many ^[l](AZ)signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our ^(BA)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(BB)Caiaphas, ^(BC)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you take into account that ^(BD)it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” ⁵¹ Now he did not say this ^[m]on his own initiative, but ^(BE)being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, ⁵² and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also ^(BF)gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³ So from that day on they ^(BG)planned together to kill Him.

⁵⁴ Therefore Jesus ^(BH)no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called ^(BI)Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵ Now ^(BJ)the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover ^(BK)to purify themselves. ⁵⁶ So they ^(BL)were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷ Now ^(BM)the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

³⁶ For ^(A)David, after he had ^[a]served ^(B)the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(C)fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and ^[b]underwent decay;

⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some ^(A)have fallen asleep;

¹⁸ Then those also who ^(A)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

The Order of Resurrection

²⁰ But now Christ ^(A)has been raised from the dead, the ^(B)first fruits of those who ^(C)are asleep.

Those Who Died in Christ

¹³ But ^(A)we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who ^(B)are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do ^(C)the rest who have ^(D)no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, ^(E)even so God will bring with Him ^(F)those who have fallen asleep ^[a]in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you ^(G)by the word of the Lord, that ^(H)we who are alive ^[b]and remain until ^(I)the coming of the Lord, will not precede ^(J)those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord ^(K)Himself ^(L)will descend from heaven with a ^[c](M)shout, with the voice of ^(N)the archangel and with the ^(O)trumpet of God, and ^(P)the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then ^(Q)we who are alive ^[d]and remain will be ^(R)caught up together with them ^(S)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always ^(T)be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

⁴ and saying, “^(A)Where is the promise of His ^(B)coming? For ever since the fathers ^(C)fell asleep, all continues just as it was ^(D)from the beginning of creation.”