We are not told how Lazarus came out, and it is foolish to speculate on this point. His hands and feet were still wrapped in grave cloths, and a cloth was still around his face. The word which Good News Translation translates grave cloths (so also Phillips) literally means “bandages,” and some translations use this word (Revised Standard Version “bound with bandages”; Moffatt “swathed in bandages”). The reference is probably to strips of linen wrapped about the corpse. New American Bible translates “linen strips”; New English Bible “linen bands”; Goodspeed “wrappings”; Jerusalem Bible “bound with bands of stuff” is not entirely clear. The word translated cloth is technically a “handkerchief,” used for wiping off perspiration. According to John 20.7, Jesus also had such a cloth wrapped around his face at his burial. There is some indication that in New Testament times it was customary to use handkerchiefs to wrap the faces of the poor in preparing them for burial.

Despite the difficulty of determining just how Lazarus came out of the tomb, it may be necessary to use a term which would suggest “walking.” One should avoid an expression which would suggest “floating out” through the air.

Again, for stylistic reasons, Good News Translation restructures the Greek in the last sentence of this verse. Literally it reads “Jesus says to them, ‘Untie him and let him go’.” The verb told is the same verb translated ordered in verse 39. As indicated there, it covers a wide area of meaning.

If the phrase Untie him is translated literally, it may suggest that Lazarus was in some way tied up with ropes. It may therefore be necessary to employ a phrase which means “Unwind the cloths from around him” or “Take off the cloths that are wound around him” or even “Take off the cloths from his body.”

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 .