John 11
Christian Standard Bible
Lazarus Dies at Bethany
11 Now a man was sick—Lazarus from Bethany,(A) the village of Mary and her sister Martha.(B) 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair,(C) and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 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.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 7 Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea(F) again.”
8 “Rabbi,”(G) the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you,(H) and you’re going there again?”
9 “Aren’t there twelve 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 But 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”[a]) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too 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) (less than two miles[b] 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 to him, “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.(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 Mary 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. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb(Y) to cry there.
32 As soon as 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 wouldn’t have died!”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved[c] in his spirit(AA) and troubled. 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, deeply moved 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, there is already a stench because he has been dead 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 that 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, “Unwrap 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 were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs? 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans(AN) will come and take away both our place 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[d] 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 Jesus therefore 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 Now the Jewish Passover(AW) was near, and many went up to Jerusalem(AX) from the country to purify themselves before the Passover. 56 They were looking for Jesus and asking one another as they stood in the temple,(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 that they could arrest him.
John 11
Easy-to-Read Version
The Death of Lazarus
11 There was a man named Lazarus who was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany, where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 (Mary is the same woman who put perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) Mary’s brother was Lazarus, the man who was now sick. 3 So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, your dear friend Lazarus is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this he said, “The end of this sickness will not be death. No, this sickness is for the glory of God. This has happened to bring glory to the Son of God.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days 7 and then said to his followers, “We should go back to Judea.”
8 They answered, “But Teacher, those Jews there tried to stone you to death. That was only a short time ago. Now you want to go back there?”
9 Jesus answered, “There are twelve hours of light in the day. Whoever walks in the day will not stumble and fall because they can see with the light from the sun.[a] 10 But whoever walks at night will stumble because there is no light.”
11 Then Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus is now sleeping, but I am going there to wake him.”
12 The followers answered, “But, Lord, if he can sleep, he will get well.” 13 They thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was literally sleeping, but he really meant that Lazarus was dead.
14 So then Jesus said plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad I was not there. I am happy for you because now you will believe in me. We will go to him now.”
16 Then Thomas, the one called “Twin,” said to the other followers, “We will go too. We will die there with Jesus.”
Jesus in Bethany
17 Jesus arrived in Bethany and found that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was about two miles[b] from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to see Martha and Mary. They came to comfort them about their brother Lazarus.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to greet him. But Mary stayed home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask.”
23 Jesus said, “Your brother will rise and be alive again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know that he will rise to live again at the time of the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection. I am life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?”
27 Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was coming to the world.”
Jesus Cries
28 After Martha said these things, she went back to her sister Mary. She talked to Mary alone and said, “The Teacher is here. He is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she stood up and went quickly to Jesus. 30 He had not yet come into the village. He was still at the place where Martha met him. 31 The Jews who were in the house comforting Mary saw her get up and leave quickly. They thought she was going to the tomb to cry there. So they followed her. 32 Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she bowed at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw Mary crying and the people with her crying too, he was very upset and deeply troubled. 34 He asked, “Where did you put him?”
They said, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus cried.
36 And the Jews said, “Look! He loved Lazarus very much!”
37 But some of them said, “Jesus healed the eyes of the blind man. Why didn’t he help Lazarus and stop him from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From Death
38 Again feeling very upset, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. 39 He said, “Move the stone away.”
Martha said, “But, Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus died. There will be a bad smell.” Martha was the sister of the dead man.
40 Then Jesus said to her, “Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, you would see God’s divine greatness.”
41 So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me. But I said these things because of the people here around me. I want them to believe that you sent me.” 43 After Jesus said this he called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with pieces of cloth. He had a handkerchief covering his face.
Jesus said to the people, “Take off the cloth and let him go.”
The Jewish Leaders Plan to Kill Jesus(A)
45 There were many Jews who came to visit Mary. When they saw what Jesus did, many of them believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus did. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the high council. They said, “What should we do? This man is doing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.”
49 One of the men there was Caiaphas. He was the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! 50 It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. But you don’t realize this.”
51 Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As that year’s high priest, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for the Jewish people. 52 Yes, he would die for the Jewish people. But he would also die for God’s other children scattered all over the world. He would die to bring them all together and make them one people.
53 That day the Jewish leaders began planning to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus stopped traveling around openly among the Jews. He went away to a town called Ephraim in an area near the desert. He stayed there with his followers.
55 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover festival. Many people from the country went to Jerusalem before the Passover. They went to do the special things to make themselves pure for the festival. 56 The people looked for Jesus. They stood in the Temple area and asked each other, “Is he coming to the festival? What do you think?” 57 But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given a special order about Jesus. They said that anyone who knew where he was must tell them so that they could arrest him.
Footnotes
- John 11:9 from the sun Literally, “of this world.”
- John 11:18 two miles Literally, “15 stadia,” almost 3 km.
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