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11 Now there was a certain [man] sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister.

It was [the] Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

But when Jesus heard [it], he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

When therefore he heard, He is sick, he remained two days then in the place where he was.

Then after this he says to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

The disciples say to him, Rabbi, [even but] now the Jews sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again?

Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walk in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world;

10 but if any one walk in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.

11 These things said he; and after this he says to them, Lazarus, our friend, is fallen asleep, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.

12 The disciples therefore said to him, Lord, if he be fallen asleep, he will get well.

13 But Jesus spoke of his death, but *they* thought that he spoke of the rest of sleep.

14 Jesus therefore then said to them plainly, Lazarus has died.

15 And I rejoice on your account that I was not there, in order that ye may believe. But let us go to him.

16 Thomas therefore, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, Let *us* also go, that we may die with him.

17 Jesus therefore [on] arriving found him to have been four days already in the tomb.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia off,

19 and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, that they might console them concerning their brother.

20 Martha then, when she heard Jesus is coming, went to meet him; but Mary sat in the house.

21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;

22 but even now I know, that whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, God will give thee.

23 Jesus says to her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha says to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.

25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes on me, though he have died, shall live;

26 and every one who lives and believes on me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She says to him, Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world.

28 And having said this, she went away and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, The teacher is come and calls thee.

29 She, when she heard [that], rises up quickly and comes to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha came to meet him.

31 The Jews therefore who were with her in the house and consoling her, seeing Mary that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, She goes to the tomb, that she may weep there.

32 Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, seeing him, fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33 Jesus therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled,

34 and said, Where have ye put him? They say to him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him!

37 And some of them said, Could not this [man], who has opened the eyes of the blind [man], have caused that this [man] also should not have died?

38 Jesus therefore, again deeply moved in himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus says, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead, says to him, Lord, he stinks already, for he is four days [there].

40 Jesus says to her, Did I not say to thee, that if thou shouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41 They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifted up his eyes on high and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me;

42 but I knew that thou always hearest me; but on account of the crowd who stand around I have said [it], that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And having said this, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And the dead came forth, bound feet and hands with graveclothes, and his face was bound round with a handkerchief. Jesus says to them, Loose him and let him go.

45 Many therefore of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done, believed on him;

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

47 The chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many signs.

48 If we let him thus alone, all will believe on him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.

49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, Ye know nothing

50 nor consider that it is profitable for you that one man die for the people, and not that the whole nation perish.

51 But this he did not say of himself; but, being high priest that year, prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation;

52 and not for the nation only, but that he should also gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

53 From that day therefore they took counsel that they might kill him.

54 Jesus therefore walked no longer openly among the Jews, but went away thence into the country near the desert, to a city called Ephraim, and there he sojourned with the disciples.

55 But the passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, that they might purify themselves.

56 They sought therefore Jesus, and said among themselves, standing in the temple, What do ye think? that he will not come to the feast?

57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment that if any one knew where he was, he should make it known, that they might take him.

Lazarus Dies at Bethany

11 Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany,(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(B) Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair,(C) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.”

When Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,(D) so that the Son of God(E) may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after that, He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea(F) again.”

“Rabbi,”(G) the disciples told Him, “just now the Jews tried to stone You,(H) and You’re going there again?”

“Aren’t there 12 hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.(I) 10 If anyone walks during the night,(J) he does stumble, because the light is not in him.” 11 He said this, and then He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,(K) but I’m on My way to wake him up.”

12 Then the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep. 14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

16 Then Thomas(L) (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go so that we may die with Him.”

The Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb(M) four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem(N) (about two miles[a] away). 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary remained seated in the house.

21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.”

23 “Your brother will rise(O) again,” Jesus told her.

24 Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”(P)

25 Jesus said to her, “I am(Q) the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me,(R) even if he dies, will live.(S) 26 Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever.(T) Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe You are the Messiah,(U) the Son(V) of God, who comes into the world.”(W)

Jesus Shares the Sorrow of Death

28 Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

29 As soon as she heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.(X) 30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. So they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb(Y) to cry there.

32 When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet(Z) and told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!”

33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry[b] in His spirit(AA) and deeply moved. 34 “Where have you put him?” He asked.

“Lord,” they told Him, “come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.(AB)

36 So the Jews said, “See how He loved(AC) him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t He who opened the blind man’s eyes(AD) also have kept this man from dying?”

The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead

38 Then Jesus, angry[c] in Himself again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.(AE) 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Him, “Lord, he’s already decaying.[d] It’s been four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory(AF) of God?”(AG)

41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes and said, “Father, I thank(AH) You that You heard Me.(AI) 42 I know that You always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may believe You sent(AJ) Me.” 43 After He said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him.(AK) 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees(AL) and told them what Jesus had done.

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin(AM) and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs? 48 If we let Him continue in this way, everyone will believe in Him! Then the Romans(AN) will come and remove both our place[e] and our nation.”

49 One of them, Caiaphas,(AO) who was high priest(AP) that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You’re not considering that it is to your[f] advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.”(AQ) 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die(AR) for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children(AS) of God. 53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.(AT) 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly(AU) among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness,(AV) to a town called Ephraim. And He stayed there with the disciples.

55 The Jewish Passover(AW) was near, and many went up to Jerusalem(AX) from the country to purify[g] themselves before the Passover. 56 They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple complex:(AY) “What do you think? He won’t come to the festival,(AZ) will He?” 57 The chief priests(BA) and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it so they could arrest Him.

Footnotes

  1. John 11:18 Lit 15 stadia; 1 stadion = 600 feet
  2. John 11:33 The Gk word is very strong and probably indicates Jesus’ anger against sin’s tyranny and death.
  3. John 11:38 See note at 11:33.
  4. John 11:39 Lit he already stinks
  5. John 11:48 The temple or possibly all of Jerusalem
  6. John 11:50 Other mss read to our
  7. John 11:55 The law of Moses required God’s people to purify or cleanse themselves so they could celebrate the Passover. Jews often came to Jerusalem a week early to do this; Nm 9:4-11.