New King James Version

New Living Translation

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

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

2It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

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.

3Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

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

4When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, 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 he was sick, He stayed two more days 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, lately the Jews sought 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 one 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.”

11These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

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

12Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”

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

13However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

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

14Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.

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

15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless 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.”

16Then Thomas, who is 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.”

17So when Jesus came, He found that he 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.

18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

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

19And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

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

20Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

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

21Now Martha 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 of 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 at 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. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

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

26And whoever 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 to come 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.”

28And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come 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.”

29As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.

29So Mary immediately went to him.

30Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.

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

31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is 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.

32Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down 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.”

33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was 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.

36Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

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

37And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, 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, again groaning in Himself, 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 him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, 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 say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

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

41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. 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.

42And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, 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.”

43Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

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

44And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose 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

45Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus 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 away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

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

47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works 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 alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and 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.”

49And one of them, Caiaphas, being 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 consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and 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.”

51Now this he did not say on his own authority; 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 that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

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

53Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.

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

54Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His 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.

55And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up 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.

56Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?”

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 both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.

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

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. 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.