John 11:1-16

International Standard Version

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² Mary was the woman who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was the one who was ill. ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus^[a] and told him, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.”

⁴ But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness isn’t meant to end in death. It’s for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ Yet, when he heard that Lazarus^[b] was ill, he stayed where he was for two more days.

⁷ After this, he told the disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

⁸ The disciples told him, “Rabbi,^[c] the Jewish leaders^[d] were just now trying to stone you to death, and you are going back there again?”

⁹ Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours in the day, aren’t there? If anyone walks during the day he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ But if anyone walks at night he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ These were the things he said.

Then after this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m leaving to wake him up.”

¹² So the disciples told him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” ¹³ Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was speaking about resting or sleeping.

¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. ¹⁵ For your sake I’m glad that I wasn’t there, so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas, who was called the Twin,^[e] told his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too, so that we may die with him!”