12:11

for on account of him many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus: This verse tells the reason why the religious leaders wanted to kill Lazarus. The reason was that he was causing many Jewish people to desert (leave) them and trust Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this verse:

for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
because he was the reason that many Jews left them and put their faith in Jesus

In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

He was the reason that many of the people were turning from them and putting their faith in Jesus. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Because of Lazarus many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus. (New Century Version)

for: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for means “because.” It introduces the reason why the religious leaders wanted to kill Lazarus.

on account of him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as on account of him here means “because of Lazarus” or “because of what happened to Lazarus.” It indicates that Lazarus was the cause of many Jews turning to Jesus to believe in him. When people saw Lazarus and heard his story, they were impressed by Jesus’ power. As a result, they began to believe that he was the Messiah.

many of the Jews: The phrase the Jews here refers to the local Jewish people, residents of Jerusalem and Judea. For example:

many of the Jewish people from Judea
-or-
many of the people (Contemporary English Version)

were deserting them: There are two ways to understand the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were deserting here.

(1) It should be understand as a metaphor and means “were leaving their loyalty to someone to become loyal to another.” For example:

were rejecting them and believing in Jesus (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)

(2) It should be understood literally and means “were going away.” For example:

were going away and believing in Jesus (NET Bible Bible)

(Revised Standard Version, NET Bible Bible, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) and most English translations and Bible experts. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

had deserted them (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
had stopped following the Jewish religious authorities

and believing in Jesus: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated similar phrases in 1:12b, 3:16b, and 11:25b. Here are other ways to translate this idea:

putting their faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
believed in Jesus (New Living Translation (2004))

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