11:39a

Take away the stone: This is a command. Jesus commanded some of the men to remove the stone from the entrance to the cave. Here are other ways to translate this command:

Move the stone away (New Century Version)
-or-
Then he told the people to roll the stone away. (Contemporary English Version)

11:39b

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master.” It was a word used to address someone with respect. See how you translated this in 11:3b and 11:21.

by now he stinks: This clause refers to the fact that by this time the body had a bad smell. This implies that it was not a good idea to roll away the stone. Translate this in a way that would be natural under these circumstances. For example:

by now he will smell (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
There will be a bad smell. (New Century Version)
-or-
The smell will be terrible. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
His ⌊body⌋ will already have a bad smell.

he stinks: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as he stinks means “he has a bad smell.” The words he stinks sound both funny and not polite in English. It is important to express this in a way that is both natural and polite, suitable for reading aloud in church.

said Martha, the sister of the dead man: Martha spoke up and protested against Jesus’ command. The text does not say, but it appears from her behavior that Martha was older than Lazarus and Mary. If you need to say whether she was older or younger than Lazarus, you can say that she was older.

11:39c

It has already been four days: This clause begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “for” or “because.” This conjunction introduces the reason that there was a bad smell. A body starts to decompose (rot or decay) before the fourth day, especially in hot weather. The Berean Standard Bible omits this conjunction because the connection is clear in English without it. Consider how you might introduce this clause naturally in your language.

General Comment on 11:39b–c

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the clauses in 11:39b–c. For example:

There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days! (Good News Translation)

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