John 11

Translator Notes

1. Lazarus (Greek Lazaros from Hebrew Eleazar, 'God has helped') is introduced by his illness, his hometown, and his sisters. Bethany was a village about two miles east of Jerusalem on the slopes of the Mount of Olives (cf. v. 18). John identifies the village by its residents rather than its geography, suggesting the sisters were well known to his audience.

Translator Notes

1. John identifies Mary by an event he has not yet narrated (the anointing occurs in 12:1-8), suggesting his readers already knew the story. The detail 'wiped his feet with her hair' distinguishes this Mary from other anointing accounts in the Synoptics. The parenthetical identification reinforces the family connection: Lazarus is defined in relation to his sisters.

Translator Notes

1. The message is restrained — no explicit request, only a statement of fact that assumes Jesus will act. The verb phileis ('you love,' from phileō) indicates personal affection and friendship. The sisters trust that the information alone will be sufficient to move Jesus to come.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's statement is true at a deeper level than it appears: Lazarus will die, but his death is not the final destination — it serves the glory (doxa) of God. The purpose clause hina doxasthē ('so that he may be glorified') connects the sign to its ultimate meaning. The phrase 'the Son of God' (ho huios tou theou) appears rarely in John as a self-designation and carries full Christological weight here.

Translator Notes

1. The verb ēgapa (from agapaō) is used here rather than phileō (v. 3). John uses both verbs for Jesus's love without a clear semantic distinction in this passage. The sentence is placed before the delay, emphasizing that Jesus's decision to wait is not a failure of love but operates within it.

Translator Notes

1. The conjunction oun ('so, therefore') is startling — 'therefore he stayed.' The delay is deliberate, not accidental. Combined with one day's travel each way, the two-day delay ensures Lazarus will have been dead four days when Jesus arrives. The delay serves the sign: a four-day-dead man is beyond any natural recovery, making the miracle unmistakable.

Translator Notes

1. The verb agōmen ('let us go') is a hortatory subjunctive, inviting the disciples to join him. The adverb palin ('again') recalls the danger — they had just fled Judea after the stoning attempt (10:31, 39). The return to Judea is a return to danger.

Translator Notes

1. The adverb nyn ('just now, recently') emphasizes the immediacy of the danger — the stoning attempt was not ancient history but recent experience. The disciples' question reveals understandable fear mixed with incredulity.

Translator Notes

1. The question is rhetorical: daylight hours are appointed and sufficient. The metaphor means Jesus has an appointed time for his work, and while that time lasts, he cannot be stopped. 'The light of this world' (to phōs tou kosmou toutou) here refers to the sun, but John's readers would hear the echo of 8:12 and 9:5 where Jesus is the light of the world.

Translator Notes

1. The shift from 'sees the light of this world' (external light, v. 9) to 'the light is not in him' (internal light, v. 10) is significant. The one who walks in darkness stumbles not merely because it is dark outside but because there is no light within. This connects to the Johannine theme of internal illumination through faith.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus uses the metaphor of sleep (kekoimētai, perfect of koimaō, 'has fallen asleep') for death — a common biblical euphemism (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, Daniel 12:2) that takes on literal force when spoken by the one who can reverse death. The perfect tense indicates a completed state: Lazarus is currently in the state of having fallen asleep. The verb exypnisō ('wake up') shows Jesus views death as a temporary condition he can reverse.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Daniel 12:2. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The disciples understand Jesus literally: if Lazarus is sleeping, sleep is healing, and he will get better (sōthēsetai, 'he will be saved/healed'). The misunderstanding is typically Johannine — the audience takes Jesus's words at face value while the deeper meaning escapes them.

Translator Notes

1. John provides the narrator's clarification, as he often does after misunderstandings (cf. 2:21, 6:71, 7:39, 12:33). The phrase koimēseōs tou hypnou ('the rest of sleep') is emphatic — literal, physical sleep, not the metaphorical sleep of death.

Translator Notes

1. The adverb parrēsia ('plainly, openly') contrasts with the figurative language of verse 11. The blunt statement Lazaros apethanen ('Lazarus died') uses the aorist — a completed event. Jesus knows Lazarus is dead without having been told, demonstrating the supernatural knowledge that characterizes John's portrayal of Jesus.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's gladness (chairō) is not callousness about Lazarus's death but satisfaction that the disciples will witness a sign that deepens their faith. His absence was deliberate (cf. v. 6): had he been present, he would have healed Lazarus, and the disciples would have seen another healing. Instead, they will see a resurrection — a sign of a completely different order.

Translator Notes

1. Thomas (Aramaic for 'twin,' translated by the Greek Didymos) appears here with characteristic blunt pessimism (cf. 14:5, 20:25). His statement is darkly loyal: he expects the trip to Judea to result in death but is willing to share it. The 'him' (autou) is ambiguous — it could mean 'die with Jesus' or 'die with Lazarus.' Most naturally it refers to Jesus, since the danger is in Judea.

Translator Notes

1. The four days (tessaras hēmeras) is theologically significant: Jewish tradition held that the soul departed the body definitively after three days, when decomposition set in (cf. v. 39). By the fourth day, death was considered irreversible. Jesus arrives when human hope has been exhausted.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek stadiōn dekapente ('fifteen stadia') equals approximately 1.7 miles (2.8 km). We render with the approximate modern equivalent for clarity. The proximity to Jerusalem explains both the presence of many mourners from the city (v. 19) and the rapid report of the miracle to the authorities (v. 46).

Translator Notes

1. The verb paramythēsōntai ('console, comfort, encourage') describes the formal Jewish mourning practice of visiting the bereaved. Here hoi Ioudaioi refers to Jewish people from Jerusalem generally (neighbors and acquaintances), not the hostile authorities. The pluperfect elēlytheisan ('had come') indicates they were already present when Jesus arrived.

Translator Notes

1. The sisters' responses are consistent with their characterizations in Luke 10:38-42: Martha is active and initiative-taking; Mary remains seated. The verb ekathezeto ('was sitting, remained seated') may indicate mourning posture — mourners traditionally sat on low seats or the ground during the shiva period.

Translator Notes

1. The conditional ei ēs hōde ('if you had been here') is a contrary-to-fact condition expressing both grief and implicit trust — she believes Jesus could have prevented the death. Mary will say the identical words in verse 32, suggesting the sisters had spoken these words to each other during the waiting period. The address Kyrie ('Lord') carries genuine reverence.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase alla kai nyn ('but even now') pushes beyond grief to tentative hope. Martha does not explicitly ask for resurrection, but her words leave the door open. The verb aitēsē ('ask, request') and the confident oida ('I know') express a faith that does not fully grasp what is about to happen but trusts in Jesus's relationship with God.

Translator Notes

1. The verb anastēsetai ('will rise') is deliberately ambiguous — it could refer to the general resurrection at the last day (as Martha takes it in v. 24) or to an imminent, present-tense rising. Jesus's statements in John frequently operate on multiple levels simultaneously.

Translator Notes

1. Martha's response is orthodox Pharisaic theology — belief in bodily resurrection at the eschaton (cf. Daniel 12:2, 2 Maccabees 7:9). Her oida ('I know') is theologically correct but inadequate to the moment: she knows about future resurrection but does not yet grasp that the resurrection stands before her in person. Jesus will redirect her from eschatological hope to present encounter.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Daniel 12:2. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The fifth 'I am' statement with predicate. By identifying himself as both hē anastasis ('the resurrection') and hē zōē ('the life'), Jesus claims to be the source and embodiment of both. The sequence 'even if he dies, will live' addresses physical death: faith in Jesus does not prevent physical death but renders it temporary.

Translator Notes

1. The second clause addresses the living: those who believe in Jesus will never experience the ultimate death (ou mē apothanē eis ton aiōna, 'will absolutely never die into the age'). Verse 25 addresses those who have already died; verse 26 addresses those now living. Together they cover all cases. The direct question 'Do you believe this?' (pisteueis touto) shifts from theological declaration to personal challenge — Martha must respond.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Martha's confession is one of the most complete in the Gospels, paralleling Peter's confession in Matthew 16:16. Three titles: ho Christos ('the Christ/Messiah'), ho huios tou theou ('the Son of God'), and ho eis ton kosmon erchomenos ('the one coming into the world'). The perfect tense pepisteuka ('I have believed and continue to believe') indicates settled, enduring faith. This is the confession the Fourth Gospel aims to produce in its readers (cf. 20:31).

Translator Notes

1. Martha calls Jesus ho didaskalos ('the Teacher') — a title of respect and intimacy. The adverb lathra ('secretly, quietly') suggests discretion: Martha does not want the mourners to follow and create a commotion before Mary and Jesus can meet privately. The verb phonei ('calls, summons') indicates a specific request from Jesus to see Mary.

Translator Notes

1. The adverb tachy ('quickly') shows Mary's eager response — she does not hesitate. The passive ēgerthē ('was raised, got up') uses the same verb root (egeirō) that describes resurrection, a coincidence John may intend: Mary rises from mourning at the Teacher's call.

Translator Notes

1. This geographical note explains why Mary must go out to Jesus rather than Jesus coming to her. He remained outside the village, perhaps deliberately — the encounter will eventually move to the tomb, which was also outside the village.

Translator Notes

1. The mourners' assumption (doxantes, 'supposing, assuming') is wrong but natural — a bereaved sister rushing out would typically be going to the tomb to grieve. Their following creates an audience for the miracle, fulfilling the narrative requirement that many witnesses be present (cf. vv. 45-46).

Translator Notes

1. Mary's words are identical to Martha's in verse 21, but her posture differs — she falls at Jesus's feet (epesen autou pros tous podas), a gesture of both reverence and grief. Unlike Martha, Mary does not add any expression of continued hope (cf. Martha's v. 22). Her grief is raw and unqualified. This is the same posture she will take in 12:3 when she anoints Jesus's feet.

Translator Notes

1. The verb enebrimēsato (from embrimaomai) is difficult to translate: it denotes a deep, forceful emotion — sometimes anger, indignation, or a snorting like a horse. The most likely sense here is a combination of grief at the devastation death causes and anger at death itself as an enemy. The reflexive etaraxen heauton ('troubled himself') indicates this was not involuntary emotion but something Jesus allowed himself to feel fully. The same verb (tarassō) appears at 12:27 and 13:21.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's question 'Where have you laid him?' does not indicate ignorance (he already knew of Lazarus's death in v. 14) but draws the mourners into active participation in what is about to happen. The invitation 'come and see' (erchou kai ide) echoes the invitation in 1:39 and 1:46 — words that in John lead to revelation.

Translator Notes

1. The shortest verse in the Bible, but among the most theologically significant. The verb edakrysen (from dakryō, 'to shed tears') is distinct from the loud wailing (klaiō) used of Mary and the mourners. Jesus's tears are quiet and controlled but genuine. The one who has just claimed to be the resurrection and the life weeps at the tomb of his friend — the fully divine one is fully human. The rendering matches the KJV because the Greek is so simple and direct that there is no meaningfully different modern rendering.

Translator Notes

1. The mourners' observation is genuine and correct — ephilei ('he loved,' imperfect of phileō) indicates ongoing personal affection. The imperfect tense captures habitual, characteristic love. Even Jesus's opponents recognize the depth of his friendship with Lazarus.

Translator Notes

1. The reference to opening blind eyes connects directly to chapter 9. The question is logical: if Jesus can heal congenital blindness, why not prevent death? The implied criticism is that Jesus's power (or willingness) has limits. The answer will come in the next few verses — Jesus's power exceeds their imagination.

Translator Notes

1. The second occurrence of embrimaomai (cf. v. 33) underscores the intensity of Jesus's emotional engagement. The tomb is described as a spēlaion ('cave') with a stone placed against (epekeito, 'was lying upon/against') the entrance — a typical first-century Jewish rock-cut tomb sealed with a rolling stone or blocking stone.

Translator Notes

1. Martha's objection is practical and visceral: ozei ('it stinks, there is an odor') refers to the decomposition of a four-day-old corpse. The term tetartaios ('fourth-day,' an adjective meaning 'of the fourth day') confirms what the narrative has established — Lazarus is unambiguously dead and decomposing. Martha's faith (v. 27) does not yet encompass the immediate possibility of resurrection.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus refers back to verse 4 (the illness is for God's glory) and verse 25 (the resurrection claim), though neither statement was made directly to Martha in those exact words — the reference may encompass the message sent through the sisters (v. 4) and the conversation of vv. 25-26. The conditional ean pisteusēs ('if you believe') makes sight dependent on faith, not faith on sight.

Translator Notes

1. The prayer begins with eucharistō ('I thank, I give thanks') — not petition but thanksgiving, as if the outcome is already settled. The aorist ēkousas ('you heard') treats the hearing as a completed event. Jesus's prayer is not a request but an acknowledgment that the Father has already answered.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus explains that the audible prayer is pedagogical — the crowd needs to hear it so they understand the miracle's source. The phrase pantote mou akoueis ('you always hear me') asserts a permanent, unbroken communion between Father and Son. The purpose clause hina pisteusōsin ('so that they may believe') reveals that the entire event — including the delay, the grief, and the miracle — serves the mission of bringing people to faith.

Translator Notes

1. The verb ekraugasen ('cried out, shouted') with phōnē megalē ('a great/loud voice') describes a commanding shout — not a whisper or a prayer but a sovereign summons to the dead. The command deuro exō ('come out here') is simple, direct, and imperative. Augustine famously noted that Jesus specified 'Lazarus' by name because, had he simply said 'come out,' all the dead would have risen.

Translator Notes

1. John describes Lazarus as ho tethnēkōs ('the one having died, the dead man') — even in the act of emerging, the narrative emphasizes he was genuinely dead. The keiriai ('linen strips, burial wrappings') bound hands and feet according to Jewish burial custom. The soudarion ('face cloth, sweat cloth') is the same word used in 20:7 for the cloth found in Jesus's empty tomb — but at Jesus's resurrection, the cloths are left behind neatly, not unwound by human hands. The command 'unbind him and let him go' (lysate auton kai aphete auton hypagein) involves the community in the miracle's completion.

Translator Notes

1. The expected response: eyewitnesses of the raising believe (episteusan, aorist — they came to faith). The sign fulfills its purpose (cf. v. 42). These are the same mourners from verse 19 who had come to console the sisters.

Translator Notes

1. The tines ('some') who report to the Pharisees may be hostile informants or may simply be reporting a remarkable event — John does not specify their motive. Either way, the report triggers the fateful council meeting in the next verse. The proximity of Bethany to Jerusalem (v. 18) makes the rapid communication plausible.

Translator Notes

1. The synedrion ('council, Sanhedrin') indicates a formal session of the ruling body. The question ti poioumen ('what are we doing?' or 'what should we do?') reveals panic and paralysis. They do not dispute the signs (sēmeia) — the reality of the miracles is conceded. Their concern is entirely political and practical, not theological.

Translator Notes

1. The fear is political: a popular messianic movement will provoke Roman intervention. The 'place' (topon) likely refers to the temple, and the 'nation' (ethnos) to Jewish national autonomy. John's readers, writing after 70 AD, would recognize the bitter irony: the Romans did come and destroy both the temple and the nation — the very outcome the council hoped to prevent by killing Jesus.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase archiereus ōn tou eniautou ekeinou ('being high priest that year') does not mean the office rotated annually — Caiaphas served as high priest from about 18-36 AD. John specifies the year to connect the high priesthood to the specific year of Jesus's death. Caiaphas's opening dismissal (hymeis ouk oidate ouden, 'you know nothing') is contemptuous and politically shrewd.

Translator Notes

1. Caiaphas's political calculus — sacrifice one to save many — is straightforward realpolitik. The verb sympherei ('it is advantageous, it is better') is coldly pragmatic. But John will immediately reinterpret these words as unwitting prophecy (vv. 51-52). The phrase heis anthrōpos apothanē hyper tou laou ('one man die for the people') uses the same preposition (hyper, 'for, on behalf of') that Jesus used of the good shepherd laying down his life (10:11, 15).

Translator Notes

1. John's editorial comment transforms Caiaphas's political statement into prophetic oracle. The phrase aph' heautou ouk eipen ('he did not say this on his own') indicates that a power beyond Caiaphas was speaking through him — the high priestly office carried prophetic capacity that operated independently of the priest's own intentions. The verb eprophēteusen ('he prophesied') is the narrator's authoritative interpretation.

Translator Notes

1. John expands the prophecy beyond Caiaphas's intent: Jesus dies not only for the Jewish nation but to gather (synagagē, from synagō — the verb root of 'synagogue') all God's scattered children into one community. The phrase ta tekna tou theou ta dieskorpismena ('the scattered children of God') echoes the 'other sheep' of 10:16 and connects to the prophetic vision of Israel's regathering (Isaiah 11:12, 43:5-6, Ezekiel 37:21) now extended to include Gentiles.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Isaiah 11:12. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Ezekiel 37:21. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

Translator Notes

1. The verb ebouleusanto ('they deliberated, resolved, plotted') marks the formal decision to kill Jesus. The raising of Lazarus — Jesus's greatest sign of life — becomes the direct cause of the decision to end his life. This is John's supreme irony: the one who gives life is condemned to death for giving life.

Translator Notes

1. Ephraim is likely the modern village of et-Taiyibeh, about fifteen miles northeast of Jerusalem on the edge of the Judean wilderness. The withdrawal is temporary — Jesus will return for Passover (v. 55). The verb emeinen ('stayed, remained') uses menō, and he remains with his disciples (meta tōn mathētōn), withdrawing from public ministry to the community of faith.

Translator Notes

1. This is the third and final Passover in John's Gospel (cf. 2:13, 6:4). The purification (hagnisōsin heautous) refers to ritual cleansing required before participating in the Passover — those who had contracted uncleanness through contact with a corpse or other sources needed to purify themselves in advance (cf. Numbers 9:6-12). The irony: they purify themselves for Passover while the true Passover Lamb is about to be slaughtered.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Numbers 9:6-12 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The crowd's speculation builds suspense: will Jesus come to this Passover, knowing the authorities want him dead? The ou mē ('surely not') with the subjunctive ēlthē expects a negative answer — they doubt he will risk it. But the readers know Jesus has already indicated he will lay down his life voluntarily (10:17-18).

Translator Notes

1. The pluperfect dedōkeisan ('had given') indicates the orders preceded the crowd's speculation — the authorities had already set the trap. The verb mēnysē ('report, inform, disclose') makes the public complicit in the arrest — everyone becomes a potential informant. The chapter ends with the net closing around Jesus, setting the stage for the events of chapters 12-19.