11:26a
11:26a further explains Jesus’ claim in 11:25a, “I am…the life.”
everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die: Scholars interpret the word lives in different ways.
(1) Most scholars say that it refers to spiritual life.
(2) Other scholars say that it refers to physical life.
Nearly all English translations can be understood either way. It is recommended that you translate lives literally so that it can also be understood either way. However, most scholars understand it to refer to spiritual life. So if you must choose one of the interpretations, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Here are other ways to translate this clause:
everyone who lives trusting me will never die
-or-
if anyone really lives and believes in me, he will never really die
-or-
no one who lives with faith in me will ever die
-or-
And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. (Contemporary English Version)
will never die: The word die here refers to eternal death, the spiritual death that means that one is separated from God. Those people who now live trusting Christ will never be separated from God. They may die physically, but they will never die spiritually and will live with God forever. In some languages it may be possible to indicate that this phrase refers to spiritual rather than physical death. For example:
will never really die (Contemporary English Version)
11:26b
Do you believe this?: This is a real question. Jesus asked Martha if she believed what he had just said.
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