Translation commentary on John 11:39

Jesus ordered is literally “Jesus says.” Most translations have “Jesus said,” but the Greek verb “to say” covers a large area of meanings, and it is legitimate to see here the meaning of “to order” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “he ordered”; New American Bible “Jesus directed”). In some languages it may be necessary to specify those whom Jesus ordered to take the stone away, for example, “Jesus ordered some of the people there, ‘Take the stone away’.”

In some languages it may seem unnecessary, or even artificial, to use the explanation the dead man’s sister, for Martha has already been identified in the story as the sister of Lazarus. However, the translator’s task is not to edit a story but to translate it, and therefore one should perhaps introduce this sentence as “the sister of the man who had died,” omitting “Martha.”

There will be a bad smell is literally “already he stinks.” Several other translations likewise handle this statement impersonally: Revised Standard Version “there will be an odor”; New American Bible “surely there will be a stench”; New English Bible “by now there will be a stench.” Goodspeed translates “by this time he is decaying.” Moffatt is quite blunt: “he will be stinking by this time.” Rather than a general expression there will be a bad smell, it may be necessary in some languages to say “you will smell a bad stink.” In other languages, however, one may say “his body is already stinking.”

He has been buried four days is literally “he is a four day man.” Most translations have something like “for he has been dead four days.” New American Bible reverses the order of the two clauses to gain effect: “Lord, it has been four days now; surely there will be a stench!” As indicated earlier, according to popular Jewish belief there was no hope for a person who had been dead for four days; by then the body showed recognizable decay, and the soul, which was thought to hover over the body for three days, had left. The passive expression He has been buried four days may be made active in some languages as “We buried him four days ago.” In other languages one must speak, not of “him,” but of “his body,” for example, “We buried his body four days ago.”

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 11:39

11:39a

Take away the stone: This is a command. Jesus commanded some of the men to remove the stone from the entrance to the cave. Here are other ways to translate this command:

Move the stone away (New Century Version)
-or-
Then he told the people to roll the stone away. (Contemporary English Version)

11:39b

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master.” It was a word used to address someone with respect. See how you translated this in 11:3b and 11:21.

by now he stinks: This clause refers to the fact that by this time the body had a bad smell. This implies that it was not a good idea to roll away the stone. Translate this in a way that would be natural under these circumstances. For example:

by now he will smell (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
There will be a bad smell. (New Century Version)
-or-
The smell will be terrible. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
His ⌊body⌋ will already have a bad smell.

he stinks: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as he stinks means “he has a bad smell.” The words he stinks sound both funny and not polite in English. It is important to express this in a way that is both natural and polite, suitable for reading aloud in church.

said Martha, the sister of the dead man: Martha spoke up and protested against Jesus’ command. The text does not say, but it appears from her behavior that Martha was older than Lazarus and Mary. If you need to say whether she was older or younger than Lazarus, you can say that she was older.

11:39c

It has already been four days: This clause begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “for” or “because.” This conjunction introduces the reason that there was a bad smell. A body starts to decompose (rot or decay) before the fourth day, especially in hot weather. The Berean Standard Bible omits this conjunction because the connection is clear in English without it. Consider how you might introduce this clause naturally in your language.

General Comment on 11:39b–c

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the clauses in 11:39b–c. For example:

There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days! (Good News Translation)

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