Section 11:1–16

Jesus’ friend Lazarus died

In this section, a friend of Jesus, a man named Lazarus, became sick and died. Jesus waited until after he died before he went to Lazarus’ town. Jesus told his disciples that they should go because Lazarus was asleep and he wanted to wake him. They did not understand, so Jesus had to tell them that Lazarus was dead.

Here are other possible section headings:

Lazarus got sick and died
-or-
Jesus waited until after Lazarus died before going to him

Paragraph 11:1–3

This paragraph introduces some new people, Jesus’ friends. There were two sisters, Mary and Martha, and one brother, Lazarus. Lazarus became seriously ill, so the sisters sent a message to Jesus.

11:1a

At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At this time here introduces a new event in the story. Introduce this new event in a way that is natural in your own language. For example:

There was a man named Lazarus who had fallen ill. (Revised English Bible)

a man named Lazarus: The phrase a man introduces a new person into the story. He is an important person in this story. Introduce Lazarus in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

A man by the name of Lazarus (Contemporary English Version)

was sick: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sick here indicates that Lazarus had a very serious illness, one that could be fatal. This was Lazarus’ condition at the start of the story. It appears that Lazarus became ill at this time. Because he had not always been ill, it may be natural to say:

became ill (Good News Translation)

He lived in Bethany: Bethany was a village or small town less than two miles east of Jerusalem. This was where Lazarus lived. In some languages it is natural to make that explicit. For example:

Lazarus, who lived in Bethany (Good News Translation)
-or-
His home was at Bethany (Revised English Bible)

General Comment on 11:1a

Verse 11:1a tells us two things about Lazarus: he was sick, and he lived in Bethany. In some languages it may be natural to translate this information using two independent clauses or sentences. For example:

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany… (New Century Version)
-or-
There was a man named Lazarus who became very ill. His home was in Bethany…

11:1b

the village of Mary and her sister Martha: This phrase describes Bethany. It indicates that Mary and her sister Martha also lived in the village of Bethany. Mary and Martha were Lazarus’ sisters. They are also mentioned in Luke 10:38–42. See the General Comment on 11:1–2.

In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate sentence. For example:

Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Good News Translation)

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