English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

1A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.

2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

2This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick.

3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

3So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

4But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

5So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,

6So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

6he stayed where he was for the next two days.

7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

7Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”

8But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”

9Jesus 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.

9Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world.

10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.”

11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”

11Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”

12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

12The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!”

13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

13They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,

14So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

16So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

16Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

17When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days.

18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

18Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem,

19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

19and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.

20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

20When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house.

21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.

22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

22But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

23Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

24“Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

27“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

28Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.”

29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

29So Mary immediately went to him.

30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

30Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him.

31When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

31When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there.

32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

32When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

33When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

35Jesus wept.

35Then Jesus wept.

36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

36The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

37But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

38Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

40Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”

41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

41So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.

42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

43Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

44The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

44And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” The Plot to Kill Jesus

45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

45Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen.

46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

46But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

47Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs.

48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

48If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.

49Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about!

50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

50You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

51He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

51He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation.

52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

52And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

53So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.

54Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

54As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

55Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

55It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began.

56They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”

56They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?”

57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

57Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.