There is no way to identify the they of the statement they prepared a dinner for him there. New English Bible makes this impersonal: “There a supper was given in his honor.” According to the account in Mark and Matthew, this meal took place at the home of Simon the leper, and a least one commentator takes this Simon to be the father of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. However, it is impossible to read that meaning into the present account. Others assume that Lazarus was the host, but from the fact that he was one of those at the table, it is better to assume that he was a guest. If it is necessary in translation to identify they, such an expression as “Jesus’ friends” or “some of Jesus’ friends” may be used. It would also be possible to say “some people there” or “some people in that town.” The difficulty is that such a pronoun as “they” suggests a definite identification, and the reader tends to associate “they” with some preceding reference. The nearest such reference is the chief priests and the Pharisees of 11.57, which certainly would not fit the they of 12.2.
Which Martha helped serve (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Martha helped serve”) is more literally “Martha served”; New English Bible and New American Bible have “at which Martha served.” Moffatt is too limiting in his translation (“Martha waited on him”); Goodspeed seems to have the proper focus (“Martha waited on them”).
Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“Lazarus lay at the table with Jesus and the others”) is close to New English Bible (“Lazarus sat among the guests with Jesus”), though it retains the literal rendering “lay” instead of translating “sat.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch then adds a cultural note, explaining the particular situation at the time of Jesus, according to which people “lay at the table” rather than “sat at the table.” If it seems necessary to give readers the proper cultural picture, this should be done in a footnote, and the text rendered in terms of the table customs of the readers. Good News Translation (so also New English Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) substitute Jesus for the pronoun “him” of the Greek text.
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 .