1
Ἦν δέ τις ἀσθενῶν, Λάζαρος ἀπὸ Βηθανίας ἐκ τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς.
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister.
Lazarus is placed by the two sisters — the women come before the man.
first here Lazarus Λάζαρος Lazaros
first here Bethany Βηθανία Bēthania
first here Mary Μαρία Maria
first here Martha Μάρθα Martha
pronoun her = Mary
2
ἦν δὲ ⸀Μαριὰμ ἡ ἀλείψασα τὸν κύριον μύρῳ καὶ ἐκμάξασα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς, ἧς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Λάζαρος ἠσθένει.
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
The writer points at something that has not yet happened (12:3) to identify Mary — he writes as if the reader already knows.
first here Mariam Μαριάμ Mariam
pronoun his = the Lord
pronoun whose = Mary
3
ἀπέστειλαν οὖν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσαι· Κύριε, ἴδε ὃν φιλεῖς ἀσθενεῖ.
So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, see, he whom you love is ill.”
He whom you love — no name is used.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Lazarus
pronoun you = Jesus
4
ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Αὕτη ἡ ἀσθένεια οὐκ ἔστιν πρὸς θάνατον ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δι’ αὐτῆς.
And when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not to death but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Not to death — and yet Lazarus dies. The line does not take that back.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun it = the message
5
ἠγάπα δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν Μάρθαν καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν Λάζαρον.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Loved here is ἀγαπάω (agapaō), a different verb from the one in verse 3 (φιλέω, phileō). Verse 36 uses the second again.
pronoun her = Martha
6
ὡς οὖν ἤκουσεν ὅτι ἀσθενεῖ, τότε μὲν ἔμεινεν ἐν ᾧ ἦν τόπῳ δύο ἡμέρας·
So when he heard that he was ill, he then remained two days in the place where he was.
He hears and stays two days. The text records the interval.
pronoun he = Jesus — the second “he” is Lazarus
7
ἔπειτα μετὰ τοῦτο λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς· Ἄγωμεν εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν πάλιν.
Then after this he says to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”
Back to the Judea he left at 10:39–40.
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
pronoun he = Jesus
8
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί· Ῥαββί, νῦν ἐζήτουν σε λιθάσαι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ πάλιν ὑπάγεις ἐκεῖ;
The disciples say to him, “Rabbi, just now the Jews were seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”
The disciples raise the stones of 10:31.
first here Jews Ἰουδαῖος Ioudaios
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus
9
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· Οὐχὶ δώδεκα ⸂ὧραί εἰσιν⸃ τῆς ἡμέρας; ἐάν τις περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, οὐ προσκόπτει, ὅτι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου τούτου βλέπει·
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world;
Twelve hours in the day counts from sunrise.
pronoun he = anyone who walks
10
ἐὰν δέ τις περιπατῇ ἐν τῇ νυκτί, προσκόπτει, ὅτι τὸ φῶς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ.
but if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Stumbles is a different word from the one at 6:61.
pronoun he = anyone who walks in the night
pronoun him = the one who walks in the night
11
ταῦτα εἶπεν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο λέγει αὐτοῖς· Λάζαρος ὁ φίλος ἡμῶν κεκοίμηται, ἀλλὰ πορεύομαι ἵνα ἐξυπνίσω αὐτόν.
He said these things, and after this he says to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him.”
Fallen asleep covers both sleep and death; at verse 12 the disciples hear the first.
pronoun He = Jesus
pronoun them = the disciples
pronoun him = Lazarus
Why this rendering
John.11.11 Observation
Syntactic observation
κεκοίμηται is the perfect of κοιμάομαι: he has fallen asleep. In v.12 the disciples take the same verb back — Lord, if he has fallen asleep he will be saved. Then in v.13 the narrator breaks in to say that Jesus spoke of his death while they understood him of sleep. The misunderstanding is written into the text, the device of Nicodemus at 3:4 and the Samaritan woman at 4:11. ἐξυπνίσω is ἐξυπνίζω, to wake someone, and it occurs only here in the New Testament.
Rendering options · 2
our friend Lazarus has died
Basis Brings the meaning forward for readability.
Rejected Verse 13 says the disciples understood him of sleep; rendering v.11 as died leaves v.13 without a footing. The translation would resolve in advance a misunderstanding the text itself builds.
Adopted Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him.
Basis Keeps one word at vv.11 and 12 so that the explanation at v.13 has something to attach to.
Lost in translation
the two senses of κοιμάομαι One Greek word holds sleep and death, so the saying and the reply pass each other on a single word. English fall asleep serves the same turn as a euphemism for death, so this one crosses over comparatively well.
Survives in · 개역한글† / Young's Literal 1898 / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
12
εἶπαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ ⸀αὐτῷ· Κύριε, εἰ κεκοίμηται σωθήσεται.
So the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep he will be saved.”
He will be saved — the same mishearing as chapters 3 and 4.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Lazarus
13
εἰρήκει δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς περὶ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἔδοξαν ὅτι περὶ τῆς κοιμήσεως τοῦ ὕπνου λέγει.
But Jesus had spoken of his death, while they thought he spoke of the rest of sleep.
The writer breaks in to divide the two senses.
pronoun his = Lazarus
pronoun they = the disciples
pronoun he = Jesus
14
τότε οὖν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς παρρησίᾳ· Λάζαρος ἀπέθανεν,
So then Jesus said to them openly, “Lazarus has died,
Openly is the word of 7:4 and 7:13.
pronoun them = the disciples
15
καὶ χαίρω δι’ ὑμᾶς, ἵνα πιστεύσητε, ὅτι οὐκ ἤμην ἐκεῖ· ἀλλὰ ἄγωμεν πρὸς αὐτόν.
and I rejoice for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
I rejoice — said in the face of a death, which is why it catches. The reason given is so that you may believe.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun your = the disciples
pronoun him = Lazarus
16
εἶπεν οὖν Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος τοῖς συμμαθηταῖς· Ἄγωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἵνα ἀποθάνωμεν μετ’ αὐτοῦ.
So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
The Twin is the sense of the Greek nickname; the writer leaves it as a name.
first here Thomas Θωμᾶς Thōmas
first here Twin Δίδυμος Didymos
pronoun his = Thomas
pronoun him = Lazarus
17
Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὗρεν αὐτὸν τέσσαρας ⸂ἤδη ἡμέρας⸃ ἔχοντα ἐν τῷ μνημείῳ.
So when Jesus came he found that he had already been four days in the tomb.
Four days — Martha counts them again at verse 39.
pronoun he = Jesus — the second “he” is Lazarus
18
ἦν δὲ ⸀ἡ Βηθανία ἐγγὺς τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ὡς ἀπὸ σταδίων δεκαπέντε.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.
Stadia names a length, so it stands as it is.
19
⸂πολλοὶ δὲ⸃ ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐληλύθεισαν πρὸς ⸀τὴν Μάρθαν καὶ ⸀Μαριὰμ ἵνα παραμυθήσωνται αὐτὰς περὶ τοῦ ⸀ἀδελφοῦ.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.
These Jews return at verses 31, 33 and 45.
pronoun them = Martha and Mary
pronoun their = Martha and Mary
20
ἡ οὖν Μάρθα ὡς ἤκουσεν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἔρχεται ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ· ⸀Μαρία δὲ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ ἐκαθέζετο.
So Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet him; but Mary was sitting in the house.
Martha goes out, Mary sits — the two are set apart.
pronoun she = Martha
pronoun him = Jesus
21
εἶπεν οὖν ⸀ἡ Μάρθα πρὸς ⸀τὸν Ἰησοῦν· Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε ⸂οὐκ ἂν ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός μου⸃·
So Martha said toward Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.
Martha's words come back word for word on Mary's lips at verse 32.
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun my = Martha
22
⸀καὶ νῦν οἶδα ὅτι ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσῃ τὸν θεὸν δώσει σοι ὁ θεός.
And even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
Even now — said after four days.
pronoun I = Martha
pronoun you = Jesus
23
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἀναστήσεται ὁ ἀδελφός σου.
Jesus says to her, “Your brother will rise.”
Will rise — at verse 24 Martha hears it of the last day.
pronoun her = Martha
pronoun Your = Martha
24
λέγει αὐτῷ ⸀ἡ Μάρθα· Οἶδα ὅτι ἀναστήσεται ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ.
Martha says to him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”
Her faith rests on the last day; verse 25 moves it to now.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = her brother
25
εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ κἂν ἀποθάνῃ ζήσεται,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one believing in me, even if he dies, will live,
I am the resurrection and the life — one of the sayings begun at 6:35.
pronoun her = Martha
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun he = the one believing
Why this rendering
John.11.25 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἀνάστασις stands in v.24 and again in v.25. Martha speaks of the ἀνάστασις on the last day, and Jesus answers, I am the ἀνάστασις. One word taken back up. ἀνάστασις already appeared at 5:29, where GLOSSARY fixed it as resurrection. Ἐγώ εἰμι takes two articular predicates — ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή — the shape of 6:35, 8:12 and 10:11. Two more verbs of rising run through the chapter: ἀνίστημι at vv.23, 24, 31 and ἐγείρω at v.29.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted I am the resurrection and the life
Basis Uses the settled rendering.
I am the rising and the life
Basis Shows the roots ἀνά and ἵστημι.
Rejected It was fixed as resurrection at 5:29 and cannot change inside the four Gospels. Showing the roots would keep the identity between Martha's word and Jesus' answer, but the consistency rule in GLOSSARY takes precedence.
Lost in translation
three words for rising The chapter carries ἀνάστασις, ἀνίστημι and ἐγείρω together. The first two share a root; ἐγείρω does not. English renders all three with resurrection, rise and raise, so which two share a root is invisible.
Survives in · this edition — 4 of the nine carry it (not this language)
26
καὶ πᾶς ὁ ζῶν καὶ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· πιστεύεις τοῦτο;
and everyone living and believing in me will never die to the age. Do you believe this?”
Even if he dies, will live and will never die stand side by side.
pronoun me = Jesus
27
λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί, κύριε· ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενος.
She says to him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
I have believed stands in the perfect — believing now, and having believed.
first here Christ Χριστός Christos
pronoun She = Martha
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus
28
Καὶ ⸀τοῦτο εἰποῦσα ἀπῆλθεν καὶ ἐφώνησεν ⸀Μαριὰμ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῆς λάθρᾳ εἰποῦσα· Ὁ διδάσκαλος πάρεστιν καὶ φωνεῖ σε.
And having said this she went away and called Mary her sister privately, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”
Privately — so that the Jews of verse 19 do not hear.
pronoun she = Martha
pronoun her = Martha
pronoun you = Mary
29
ἐκείνη ⸀δὲ ὡς ἤκουσεν ⸀ἠγέρθη ταχὺ καὶ ⸀ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν·
And when she heard it she rose quickly and was coming to him.
Was coming stands in the imperfect.
pronoun she = Mary
pronoun him = Jesus
30
οὔπω δὲ ἐληλύθει ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὴν κώμην, ἀλλ’ ἦν ⸀ἔτι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ὅπου ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ἡ Μάρθα.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him.
Jesus is still outside the village — that is why the mistake of verse 31 arises.
pronoun him = Jesus
31
οἱ οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι οἱ ὄντες μετ’ αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ καὶ παραμυθούμενοι αὐτήν, ἰδόντες τὴν ⸀Μαριὰμ ὅτι ταχέως ἀνέστη καὶ ἐξῆλθεν, ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῇ ⸀δόξαντες ὅτι ὑπάγει εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον ἵνα κλαύσῃ ἐκεῖ.
So the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, seeing Mary rise quickly and go out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
They suppose she goes to the tomb — and to the tomb they go.
pronoun her = Mary
pronoun she = Mary
32
ἡ οὖν ⸀Μαριὰμ ὡς ἦλθεν ὅπου ⸀ἦν Ἰησοῦς ἰδοῦσα αὐτὸν ἔπεσεν αὐτοῦ ⸀πρὸς τοὺς πόδας, λέγουσα αὐτῷ· Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν ⸂μου ἀπέθανεν⸃ ὁ ἀδελφός.
So Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
She says not one word differently from Martha at verse 21.
pronoun she = Mary
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun my = Mary
33
Ἰησοῦς οὖν ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὴν κλαίουσαν καὶ τοὺς συνελθόντας αὐτῇ Ἰουδαίους κλαίοντας ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι καὶ ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν,
So Jesus, when he saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, snorted in spirit and troubled himself,
Snorted renders ἐμβριμάομαι (embrimaomai), a word for the snort of a horse — it names anger, not sorrow, and this edition keeps that.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun her = Mary
Why this rendering
John.11.33 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
ἐμβριμάομαι comes from the snorting of an animal and names strong anger or violent feeling. It occurs twice in John, at 11:33 and 11:38. And ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν is an active verb with a reflexive pronoun — he troubled himself, not he was troubled. John uses ταράσσω again at 12:27, 13:21, 14:1 and 14:27, but only here in the reflexive. KJV notes the fact in the margin: “Gr. he troubled himself.”
Rendering options · 2
he was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled
Basis Softens the strong verb and turns the reflexive into a passive.
Rejected Two things go at once. If the violence of ἐμβριμάομαι becomes being moved, the direction reverses; and if the active reflexive becomes a passive, it is done to him rather than by him. 개역한글's 통분히 여기시고, the Vulgate's infremuit and the Japanese 憤りを覚え keep the force.
Adopted So Jesus, when he saw her wailing and the Jews who had come with her wailing, snorted in spirit and troubled himself,
Basis Keeps both the force of ἐμβριμάομαι and the active reflexive. YLT's groan and troubled himself, and the Vulgate's infremuit and turbavit seipsum, move the same way.
Lost in translation
the active reflexive ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν “He troubled himself” and “he was troubled” are not the same. The KJV’s was troubled is the second. KJV prints was troubled and notes in the margin that the Greek is reflexive, marking on the page what it lost.
Survives in · Young's Literal 1898 / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / King James 1769 / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
the violence of ἐμβριμάομαι The word comes from an animal's snorting. Rendering it as being deeply moved turns anger into tenderness and reverses the direction.
Survives in · 개역한글† / Young's Literal 1898 / King James 1769 / Vulgata Clementina / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 7 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
34
καὶ εἶπεν· Ποῦ τεθείκατε αὐτόν; λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Κύριε, ἔρχου καὶ ἴδε.
and said, “Where have you laid him?” They say to him, “Lord, come and see.”
Come and see is the phrase of 1:39 and 1:46.
pronoun him = Lazarus — the second “him” is Jesus
pronoun They = the Jews
35
ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς.
Jesus shed tears.
Shed tears renders δακρύω (dakryō), a different verb from the wailing of verse 33 — tears rather than a cry.
Why this rendering
John.11.35 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἐδάκρυσεν is δακρύω, from δάκρυον, a tear. It occurs once in John and once in the whole New Testament — here. But at 11:31 and 11:33 just before, the weeping of Mary and the Jews is κλαίω, the loud kind. κλαίω occurs six times in John (11:31, 33; 16:20; 20:11, 13, 15). So two words stand apart inside one scene: the crowd wails, Jesus sheds tears. Two verses apart.
Rendering options · 2
Jesus wept
Basis The shortest and most settled rendering.
Rejected If κλαίω at vv.31 and 33 is also rendered weep, the two words become one. What disappears is that John chose here the New Testament's only occurrence of a word, and the crowd's wailing and Jesus' tears become the same thing. Not one English version in our columns keeps the distinction.
Adopted Jesus shed tears.
Basis Renders δακρύω with tears and κλαίω with loud weeping. 개역한글 already has 눈물을 흘리시더라, the Vulgate lacrimatus est against plorantes for the crowd, Elberfelder vergoß Tränen, the Synodal прослезился and the Japanese 涙を流された.
Lost in translation
the δακρύω / κλαίω distinction Not one of the six English versions in our columns keeps it; all render “wept.” This edition keeps it — *shed tears* here against *weep* at vv.31 and 33. Once lost, this shortest verse reads as a repetition of the one before it.
Survives in · 개역한글† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / Синодальный перевод / 新共同訳聖書 (1987)† / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
36
ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι· Ἴδε πῶς ἐφίλει αὐτόν.
So the Jews were saying, “See how he loved him.”
Loved here is the verb of verse 3, not verse 5. The book uses both.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Lazarus
37
τινὲς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν εἶπαν· Οὐκ ἐδύνατο οὗτος ὁ ἀνοίξας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ τυφλοῦ ποιῆσαι ἵνα καὶ οὗτος μὴ ἀποθάνῃ;
But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, have kept this man also from dying?”
Chapter 9 is raised against him, as at 10:21.
pronoun them = the Jews
pronoun this man = Jesus — the second “this man” is Lazarus
pronoun who = Jesus
38
Ἰησοῦς οὖν πάλιν ἐμβριμώμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον· ἦν δὲ σπήλαιον, καὶ λίθος ἐπέκειτο ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
So Jesus, again snorting within himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
The snorting of verse 33 comes back.
pronoun himself = Jesus
pronoun it = the cave
39
λέγει ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἄρατε τὸν λίθον. λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ ⸀τετελευτηκότος Μάρθα· Κύριε, ἤδη ὄζει, τεταρταῖος γάρ ἐστιν.
Jesus says, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, says to him, “Lord, he already stinks; it is the fourth day.”
He already stinks — said by the one who made the confession of verse 27.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Lazarus
40
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐκ εἶπόν σοι ὅτι ἐὰν πιστεύσῃς ⸀ὄψῃ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ;
Jesus says to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
It points back to the glory of God in verse 4.
pronoun her = Martha
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = Martha
41
ἦραν οὖν τὸν ⸀λίθον. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἦρεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἄνω καὶ εἶπεν· Πάτερ, εὐχαριστῶ σοι ὅτι ἤκουσάς μου,
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.
I thank you renders the verb of 6:11 and 6:23.
pronoun they = those who took away the stone
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun you = the Father
pronoun me = Jesus
42
ἐγὼ δὲ ᾔδειν ὅτι πάντοτέ μου ἀκούεις· ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον τὸν περιεστῶτα εἶπον, ἵνα πιστεύσωσιν ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας.
And I knew that you always hear me; but because of the crowd standing around I said it, so that they may believe that you sent me.”
He gives the crowd as the reason for praying aloud — the same shape as 12:30.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the Father
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun they = the crowd
43
καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκραύγασεν· Λάζαρε, δεῦρο ἔξω.
And having said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
A loud voice joins with 5:28, “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice”.
pronoun he = Jesus
44
⸀ἐξῆλθεν ὁ τεθνηκὼς δεδεμένος τοὺς πόδας καὶ τὰς χεῖρας κειρίαις, καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτοῦ σουδαρίῳ περιεδέδετο. λέγει ⸂αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς⸃· Λύσατε αὐτὸν καὶ ἄφετε ⸀αὐτὸν ὑπάγειν.
The man who had died came out, bound feet and hands with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped about with a cloth. Jesus says to them, “Loose him and let him go.”
He comes out still bound — set against the empty wrappings of 20:6–7.
pronoun his = the man who had died
45
Πολλοὶ οὖν ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, οἱ ἐλθόντες πρὸς τὴν ⸀Μαριὰμ καὶ θεασάμενοι ⸀ἃ ⸀ἐποίησεν, ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν·
So many of the Jews, those who had come to Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.
Those who saw believe.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
46
τινὲς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τοὺς Φαρισαίους καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς ἃ ⸀ἐποίησεν Ἰησοῦς.
But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Some who saw the same thing go elsewhere with it.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
pronoun them = the Pharisees
47
συνήγαγον οὖν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι συνέδριον, καὶ ἔλεγον· Τί ποιοῦμεν ὅτι οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος πολλὰ ⸂ποιεῖ σημεῖα⸃;
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.
Council renders συνέδριον (synedrion), which names both the body and the place it sat.
pronoun we = the chief priests and Pharisees
pronoun this man = Jesus
48
ἐὰν ἀφῶμεν αὐτὸν οὕτως, πάντες πιστεύσουσιν εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ ἐλεύσονται οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ ἀροῦσιν ἡμῶν καὶ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ ἔθνος.
If we let him go on like this, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
The fear named is Rome — our place and our nation.
first here Romans Ῥωμαῖος Rhōmaios
pronoun we = the chief priests and Pharisees
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun our = the chief priests and Pharisees
49
εἷς δέ τις ἐξ αὐτῶν Καϊάφας, ἀρχιερεὺς ὢν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε οὐδέν,
But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
High priest that year is repeated at verse 51.
first here Caiaphas Καϊάφας Kaiaphas
pronoun them = the council
pronoun You = the council
50
οὐδὲ ⸀λογίζεσθε ὅτι συμφέρει ⸀ὑμῖν ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ ἔθνος ἀπόληται.
nor do you reckon that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people and that the whole nation not perish.”
One man die for the people — verse 51 reads it again as prophecy.
pronoun you = the council
Why this rendering
John.11.50 Observation
Syntactic observation
Two words for a people stand in one sentence — λαός and ἔθνος. λαός leans toward the people of God; ἔθνος toward a nation. Caiaphas says it is expedient that one man die for the λαός and that the whole ἔθνος not perish. In vv.51–52 the narrator states that he did not say this of himself but prophesied, and adds the gathering of the scattered children of God into one. ὑπέρ is the preposition of 10:11 and 10:15, for the sheep. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀λογίζεσθε ⸀ὑμῖν).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted one man die for the people and the whole nation not perish
Basis Renders the two as people and nation.
one man die for the people and the whole people not perish
Basis Uses one word for both for readability.
Rejected Caiaphas' calculation lies in overlaying the people of God with the nation. One word blurs that he is making a political count in religious words, and it weakens the turn at v.52 where the narrator takes the saying up as the scattered children of God.
Lost in translation
the λαός / ἔθνος distinction The two overlap within one sentence, and while English people/nation can render the pair, it cannot carry the weight λαός brings from its use for the people of God.
Survives in · 개역한글† / King James 1769 / New American Standard (1995)† / English Standard Version† / New English Translation† / Vulgata Clementina / Elberfelder 1871 / this edition — 9 of the nine carry it (this language among them)
51
τοῦτο δὲ ἀφ’ ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ ἀρχιερεὺς ὢν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου ἐπροφήτευσεν ὅτι ἔμελλεν Ἰησοῦς ἀποθνῄσκειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους,
Now he did not say this of himself, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation,
The writer breaks in to put a second sense on what was said.
pronoun he = Caiaphas
pronoun this = the saying
52
καὶ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἔθνους μόνον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ διεσκορπισμένα συναγάγῃ εἰς ἕν.
and not for the nation only, but so that he might gather into one the scattered children of God.
Gather into one joins with one flock at 10:16.
pronoun he = Jesus
53
ἀπ’ ἐκείνης οὖν τῆς ἡμέρας ⸀ἐβουλεύσαντο ἵνα ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτόν.
So from that day they took counsel to kill him.
From that day — the plan hardens here.
pronoun they = the council
pronoun him = Jesus
54
⸂Ὁ οὖν Ἰησοῦς⸃ οὐκέτι παρρησίᾳ περιεπάτει ἐν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἀλλὰ ἀπῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὴν χώραν ἐγγὺς τῆς ἐρήμου, εἰς Ἐφραὶμ λεγομένην πόλιν, κἀκεῖ ⸀ἔμεινεν μετὰ τῶν ⸀μαθητῶν.
Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went away from there into the region near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he remained with the disciples.
Ephraim is named once in this book.
first here Ephraim Ἐφραίμ Ephraim
55
Ἦν δὲ ἐγγὺς τὸ πάσχα τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ ἀνέβησαν πολλοὶ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐκ τῆς χώρας πρὸ τοῦ πάσχα ἵνα ἁγνίσωσιν ἑαυτούς.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.
The third Passover of this book, after 2:13 and 6:4.
56
ἐζήτουν οὖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ ἔλεγον μετ’ ἀλλήλων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἑστηκότες· Τί δοκεῖ ὑμῖν; ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἔλθῃ εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν;
So they were seeking Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
The question is framed to expect that he will come.
pronoun they = those who had gone up
pronoun he = Jesus
57
δεδώκεισαν ⸀δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ⸀ἐντολὰς ἵνα ἐάν τις γνῷ ποῦ ἐστιν μηνύσῃ, ὅπως πιάσωσιν αὐτόν.
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should disclose it, so that they might seize him.
The chapter closes with the order to arrest — chapter 12 moves under it.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun it = where he was
pronoun him = Jesus