John 11:37-39

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 11:37 tn Grk “who opened the eyes of the blind man” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
2. John 11:37 tn Grk “this one”; the second half of 11:37 reads Grk “Could not this one who opened the eyes of the blind have done something to keep this one from dying?” In the Greek text the repetition of “this one” in 11:37b referring to two different persons (first Jesus, second Lazarus) could confuse a modern reader. Thus the first reference, to Jesus, has been translated as “he” to refer back to the beginning of v. 37, where the reference to “the man who caused the blind man to see” is clearly a reference to Jesus. The second reference, to Lazarus, has been specified (“Lazarus”) in the translation for clarity.
3. John 11:38 tn Or (perhaps) “Jesus was deeply indignant.”
4. John 11:38 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
5. John 11:39 tn Or “Remove the stone.”
6. John 11:39 tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”
7. John 11:39 tn Grk “already he stinks.”
8. John 11:39 tn Or “been there” (in the tomb—see John 11:17).
9. John 11:39 sn He has been buried four days. Although all the details of the miracle itself are not given, those details which are mentioned are important. The statement made by Martha is extremely significant for understanding what actually took place. There is no doubt that Lazarus had really died, because the decomposition of his body had already begun to take place, since he had been dead for four days.