complete verse (John 11:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 11:6:

  • Uma: “But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he did not go right away, he just stayed in his staying-place for two more days.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But when Isa knew that Lasarus was sick, he waited there still for two days at the village where he was.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he did not yet make any move for two days there in the place where he was living.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But even though that was so, upon his hearing that Lazarus was sick, he didn’t go, he stayed two days more where he was.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But even though Jesus now knew that Lazaro was sick, he didn’t go at once, but on the contrary it was two more days,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Even though he heard that he was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 11:6

In Greek neither Lazarus nor Jesus are mentioned by name: “when he heard that he was sick, he remained where he was….” To avoid the repetition of the pronoun “he” four times, and, at the same time, to avoid confusion to the reader, Good News Translation renders Lazarus was sick; the first “he” is clear in light of the explicit mention of Jesus in verse 5, and by the sentence structure of Good News Translation any possible ambiguities are removed from this verse.

In many languages received the news may be best expressed as “heard the messenger say” or “heard the report that.”

No reason is given why Jesus stayed where he was for two more days, instead of going immediately to Bethany. It was certainly not for the sake of letting Lazarus die so that a greater miracle could be performed, since verses 17 and 39 suggest that Lazarus was already dead at the time Jesus received the message. More likely Jesus stayed where he was for two more days to indicate that his actions and movements were determined by divine decree, rather than by the will and desires of human beings (compare 2.3,4; 7.3-9); but this information should not be included in the translation.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 11:6

11:6a

So: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So here introduces what Jesus did because he loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Or he did it because Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death but in God’s glory (11:4). In this understanding, 11:5 is a parenthetical comment. See the note on 11:5-6 above for more information.

on hearing that Lazarus was sick: The messenger told Jesus that Lazarus was sick. In some languages it may be natural to translate this message as a direct quotation. For example:

when/after the messenger told him, “Lazarus is ill”

11:6b

He stayed: These words indicate that Jesus did not go to see Lazarus immediately. He remained in the place where he was.

where He was: This phrase refers to the place where John had baptized, mentioned in 10:40.

for two days: This phrase indicates that after Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he waited two days before leaving to visit the family.

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