John 11
Holman 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 fragrant oil 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 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
- John 11:18 Lit 15 stadia; 1 stadion = 600 feet
- John 11:33 The Gk word is very strong and probably indicates Jesus’ anger against sin’s tyranny and death.
- John 11:38 See note at 11:33.
- John 11:39 Lit he already stinks
- John 11:48 The temple or possibly all of Jerusalem
- John 11:50 Other mss read to our
- 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.
John 11
Young's Literal Translation
11 And there was a certain one ailing, Lazarus, from Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister --
2 and it was Mary who did anoint the Lord with ointment, and did wipe his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ailing --
3 therefore sent the sisters unto him, saying, `Sir, lo, he whom thou dost love is ailing;'
4 and Jesus having heard, said, `This ailment is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'
5 And Jesus was loving Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus,
6 when, therefore, he heard that he is ailing, then indeed he remained in the place in which he was two days,
7 then after this, he saith to the disciples, `We may go to Judea again;'
8 the disciples say to him, `Rabbi, now were the Jews seeking to stone thee, and again thou dost go thither!'
9 Jesus answered, `Are there not twelve hours in the day? if any one may walk in the day, he doth not stumble, because the light of this world he doth see;
10 and if any one may walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.'
11 These things he said, and after this he saith to them, `Lazarus our friend hath fallen asleep, but I go on that I may awake him;'
12 therefore said his disciples, `Sir, if he hath fallen asleep, he will be saved;'
13 but Jesus had spoken about his death, but they thought that about the repose of sleep he speaketh.
14 Then, therefore, Jesus said to them freely, `Lazarus hath died;
15 and I rejoice, for your sake, (that ye may believe,) that I was not there; but we may go to him;'
16 therefore said Thomas, who is called Didymus, to the fellow-disciples, `We may go -- we also, that we may die with him,'
17 Jesus, therefore, having come, found him having been four days already in the tomb.
18 And Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off,
19 and many of the Jews had come unto Martha and Mary, that they might comfort them concerning their brother;
20 Martha, therefore, when she heard that Jesus doth come, met him, and Mary kept sitting in the house.
21 Martha, therefore, said unto Jesus, `Sir, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;
22 but even now, I have known that whatever thou mayest ask of God, God will give to thee;'
23 Jesus saith to her, `Thy brother shall rise again.'
24 Martha saith to him, `I have known that he will rise again, in the rising again in the last day;'
25 Jesus said to her, `I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live;
26 and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die -- to the age;
27 believest thou this?' she saith to him, `Yes, sir, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming to the world.'
28 And these things having said, she went away, and called Mary her sister privately, saying, `The Teacher is present, and doth call thee;'
29 she, when she heard, riseth up quickly, and doth come to him;
30 and Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was in the place where Martha met him;
31 the Jews, therefore, who were with her in the house, and were comforting her, having seen Mary that she rose up quickly and went forth, followed her, saying -- `She doth go away to the tomb, that she may weep there.'
32 Mary, therefore, when she came where Jesus was, having seen him, fell at his feet, saying to him, `Sir, 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, did groan in the spirit, and troubled himself, and he said,
34 `Where have ye laid him?' they say to him, `Sir, come and see;'
35 Jesus wept.
36 The Jews, therefore, said, `Lo, how he was loving him!'
37 and certain of them said, `Was not this one, who did open the eyes of the blind man, able to cause that also this one might not have died?'
38 Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, cometh to the tomb, and it was a cave, and a stone was lying upon it,
39 Jesus saith, `Take ye away the stone;' the sister of him who hath died -- Martha -- saith to him, `Sir, already he stinketh, for he is four days dead;'
40 Jesus saith to her, `Said I not to thee, that if thou mayest believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?'
41 They took away, therefore, the stone where the dead was laid, and Jesus lifted his eyes upwards, and said, `Father, I thank Thee, that Thou didst hear me;
42 and I knew that Thou always dost hear me, but, because of the multitude that is standing by, I said [it], that they may believe that Thou didst send me.'
43 And these things saying, with a loud voice he cried out, `Lazarus, come forth;'
44 and he who died came forth, being bound feet and hands with grave-clothes, and his visage with a napkin was bound about; Jesus saith to them, `Loose him, and suffer to go.'
45 Many, therefore, of the Jews who came unto Mary, and beheld what Jesus did, believed in him;
46 but certain of them went away unto the Pharisees, and told them what Jesus did;
47 the chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees, gathered together a sanhedrim, and said, `What may we do? because this man doth many signs?
48 if we may let him alone thus, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and will take away both our place and nation.'
49 and a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being chief priest of that year, said to them, `Ye have not known anything,
50 nor reason that it is good for us that one man may die for the people, and not the whole nation perish.'
51 And this he said not of himself, but being chief priest of that year, he did prophesy that Jesus was about to die for the nation,
52 and not for the nation only, but that also the children of God, who have been scattered abroad, he may gather together into one.
53 From that day, therefore, they took counsel together that they may kill him;
54 Jesus, therefore, was no more freely walking among the Jews, but went away thence to the region nigh the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with his disciples.
55 And the passover of the Jews was nigh, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, that they might purify themselves;
56 they were seeking, therefore, Jesus, and said one with another, standing in the temple, `What doth appear to you -- that he may not come to the feast?'
57 and both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if any one may know where he is, he may shew [it], so that they may seize him.
John 11
EasyEnglish Bible
Lazarus dies
11 There was a certain man, who was called Lazarus. He lived at Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived too. He became ill. 2 It was this Mary who had poured oil with a nice smell over the feet of the Lord Jesus. Then she had cleaned his feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was ill. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus to say, ‘Lord, the friend that you love is ill.’
4 Jesus heard the message. Then he said, ‘This illness will not finish with Lazarus's death. No, its purpose is to show how great God is. Because of this, people will see how great God's Son is.’ 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and their brother Lazarus, too. 6 He heard the news that Lazarus was ill. But then he stayed in the place where he was for two more days.
7 After that, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘We should return to Judea.’ 8 The disciples said, ‘Teacher, only a short time ago, the Jews there tried to kill you with stones. You should not return there!’ 9 Jesus answered, ‘You know that there are 12 hours in the day. Anyone who walks during the day will not fall down. He will not fall down because he sees this world's light. 10 But anyone who walks during the night will fall down. He will fall down because he has no light.’
11 After Jesus said that, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. But I will go there to wake him up.’ 12 So the disciples said to him, ‘If he is sleeping, Lord, he will get well again.’ 13 The disciples thought that Jesus was talking about sleep as rest. But Jesus meant that Lazarus had died. 14 So then, Jesus told them clearly, ‘Lazarus is dead. 15 But I am happy that I was not there with him. I am happy about that because it will help you. Now you will believe in me. We must go to him now.’ 16 Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to the other disciples, ‘We should go with our Teacher, so that we can die with him!’[a]
Jesus is able to give life to dead people
17 Jesus arrived at Bethany. He discovered that Lazarus had already been in the grave for four days. 18 Bethany was about 3 kilometres from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come there to visit Martha and Mary. They wanted to help Martha and Mary because their brother had died.
20 Martha heard the news that Jesus was coming. So she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house with the visitors. 21 Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now, I know that God will answer you. He will do whatever you ask him.’ 23 Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise and become alive again.’ 24 Martha replied, ‘I know that he will rise on the last day, to become alive again.’ 25 Jesus said to her, ‘I have authority over death. I raise dead people, and I give people true life. Anyone who believes in me will live. Even if that person dies, he will continue to live. 26 People who believe in me while they are alive will never die. Do you believe that?’ 27 Martha answered, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah. You are God's Son, the one that God promised to send into the world.’
28 After this, Martha went back to the house. She took Mary to speak to her on her own. Martha said to her, ‘The Teacher is here, and he is asking to meet you.’ 29 When Mary heard this, she got up immediately. She went out to meet Jesus. 30 Jesus had not arrived in the village yet. He was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 There were still Jews in the house who were with Mary to help her. They saw her get up quickly and go out. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the place where they had put Lazarus's dead body. They thought that she wanted to go there to weep.
32 Mary arrived at the place where Jesus was. When she saw Jesus, she bent down low at his feet. She said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ 33 Jesus saw that Mary was weeping. He saw that the Jews who had come with her were weeping too. When Jesus saw them, he felt very sad in his spirit. He was upset about Lazarus's death. 34 He asked them, ‘Where have you put his dead body?’ They answered, ‘Come and see, Lord.’ 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said to each other, ‘See how much he loved Lazarus!’ 37 But some of them said, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind man. So surely he would have been able to stop the death of Lazarus.’
Jesus makes Lazarus alive again
38 Jesus arrived at the grave where they had put Lazarus's dead body. It was a cave. A large stone covered the front of the hole. Again, Jesus felt very upset. 39 He said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha, the dead man's sister, said to Jesus, ‘But Lord, by now his dead body will have a bad smell. He has been dead for four days!’ 40 Jesus said to her, ‘I told you already that you must believe in me. Then you will see how great and how powerful God is.’ 41 So they moved the stone away. Jesus looked up towards the sky. He said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 42 I know that you listen to me always. But I said this to help all the people who are standing here. I want them to believe that you sent me.’ 43 When Jesus had said this, he shouted with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man came out. There were pieces of cloth round his hands and round his feet. Another piece of cloth was round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Undo the cloths and let him go.’
The Pharisees decide how to kill Jesus
45 The Jews who had come to visit Mary saw this. They saw what Jesus did. So many of them believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47 Then the Pharisees and the leaders of the priests had a meeting with the group of Jewish leaders. They asked each other, ‘What will we do? This man is doing so many miracles. 48 If we let him do more things like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman rulers will come and punish us.[b] Their soldiers will destroy our temple and even destroy our whole country of Israel.’
49 One of the group was the leader of the priests that year. He was called Caiaphas. He said, ‘You do not understand the problem. 50 It is better that one man should die on behalf of our people. That is better than if all Israel's people should die.’ 51 Caiaphas did not say this because he had thought it by himself. No, he was speaking as a prophet, because he was the leader of the priests that year. That is why he said that Jesus would die on behalf of Israel's people. 52 And Jesus would die not only for Israel's people. He would also die for all God's people who lived in many different places. He would bring them all together. They would become like one big family.
53 From that day, the Jewish leaders decided together how they could kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus stopped travelling about in Judea where everyone could see him. Instead, he went away from there to a town called Ephraim that was near to the wilderness. He stayed there with his disciples.
55 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Festival to begin. Many people were going from their country places to Jerusalem. They were going there to make themselves clean in front of God before they went to the festival. 56 They were continuing to look for Jesus. While they stood in the yard of the temple, they spoke to each other about him. They asked each other, ‘Do you think that he will come to the festival or not?’ 57 The leaders of the priests and the Pharisees had spoken to the people about Jesus. They had told them, ‘If anyone knows where Jesus is, you must tell us.’ So then they could take hold of him to put him in a prison.
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