New Revised Standard NRS
Common English Bible CEB
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
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A certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (
2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.
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This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.)
3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."
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So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, "Lord, the one whom you love is ill."
4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
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When he heard this, Jesus said, "This illness isn't fatal. It's for the glory of God so that God's Son can be glorified through it."
5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,
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Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.
6 after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
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When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was. After two days,
7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
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he said to his disciples, "Let's return to Judea again."
8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"
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The disciples replied, "Rabbi, the Jewish opposition wants to stone you, but you want to go back?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.
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Jesus answered, "Aren't there twelve hours in the day? Whoever walks in the day doesn't stumble because they see the light of the world.
10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."
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But whoever walks in the night does stumble because the light isn't in them."
11 After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."
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He continued, "Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I am going in order to wake him up."
12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right."
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The disciples said, "Lord, if he's sleeping, he will get well."
13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.
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They thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was in a deep sleep, but Jesus had spoken about Lazarus' death.
14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.
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Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died.
15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
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For your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there so that you can believe. Let's go to him."
16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
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Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other disciples, "Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus."
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
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When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away,
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Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem.
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.
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Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother's death.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.
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When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
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Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.
22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him."
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Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
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Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."
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Martha replied, "I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
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Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die.
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
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Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
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She replied, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God's Son, the one who is coming into the world."
28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."
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After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, "The teacher is here and he's calling for you."
29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him.
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When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.
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He hadn't entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
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When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb.
32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
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When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
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When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled.
34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."
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He asked, "Where have you laid him?" They replied, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus began to weep.
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Jesus began to cry.
36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
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The Jews said, "See how much he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
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But some of them said, "He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?"
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
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Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance.
39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days."
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Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, "Lord, the smell will be awful! He's been dead four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
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Jesus replied, "Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see God's glory?"
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me.
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So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me."
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I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
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Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
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The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."
45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
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Therefore, many of the Jews who came with Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him.
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done.
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But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
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Then the chief priests and Pharisees called together the council and said, "What are we going to do? This man is doing many miraculous signs!
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation."
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If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our people."
49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all!
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One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, "You don't know anything!
50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed."
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You don't see that it is better for you that one man die for the people rather than the whole nation be destroyed."
51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation,
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He didn't say this on his own. As high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would soon die for the nation—
52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
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and not only for the nation. Jesus would also die so that God's children scattered everywhere would be gathered together as one.
53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.
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From that day on they plotted to kill him.
54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.
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Therefore, Jesus was no longer active in public ministry among the Jewish leaders. Instead, he left Jerusalem and went to a place near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
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It was almost time for the Jewish Passover, and many people went from the countryside up to Jerusalem to purify themselves through ritual washing before the Passover.
56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?"
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They were looking for Jesus. As they spoke to each other in the temple, they said, "What do you think? He won't come to the festival, will he?"
57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
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The chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where he was should report it, so they could arrest him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible