In Greek verses 18 and 19 are two separate sentences. Good News Translation combines them into one, thus bringing together the motifs of the short distance between Bethany and Jerusalem and the visit of the many Judeans. In some languages many Judeans can be best expressed as “many people from Judea” or even “many people from that part of the country.”

To comfort them about their brother’s death (Phillips “to offer them sympathy over their brother’s death”; New English Bible “to condole with them on their brother’s death”) is literally “to comfort them concerning the brother.” Either rendering (about their brother’s death or “about their brother”) is legitimate, as is also the rendering of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“to comfort the two of them”).

The verb rendered to comfort appears again in verse 31; elsewhere in the New Testament it is used only in 1 Thessalonians 2.11 (2.12 in Good News Translation) and 5.14, where it seems to have the meaning “to encourage” or “to cheer up.” In some languages an equivalent of comfort may be “to speak helpful words.” If one translates in this manner, it will be possible to translate the final phrase, more or less literally, “about their brother’s death” or “about the fact that their brother had died.” However, if one uses a verb meaning “to encourage” or “to cheer them up,” it may be necessary to indicate the brother’s death as cause, for example, “to cheer them up because of the fact that their brother had died.”

Embalming was not practiced in ancient Palestine, and so burial took place on the day of death. It was common, therefore, for the mourners to remain and offer their comfort to the bereaved after the time of burial.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .