Passage

John 11.5-6

Book: John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

3. The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4. But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.

5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6. When therefore he heard that he was sick, he abode at that time two days in the place where he was.

Then after this he saith to the disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8. The disciples say unto him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? (John 11:3-8, ASV)

WEB

3. The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.” 4. But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”

5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6. When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.” 8. The disciples told him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” (John 11:3-8, WEB)

KJV

3. Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? (John 11:3-8, KJV)

YLT

3. therefore sent the sisters unto him, saying, 'Sir, lo, he whom thou dost love is ailing;' 4. and Jesus having heard, said, 'This ailment is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'

5. And Jesus was loving Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus, 6. when, therefore, he heard that he is ailing, then indeed he remained in the place in which he was two days,

then after this, he saith to the disciples, 'We may go to Judea again;' 8. the disciples say to him, 'Rabbi, now were the Jews seeking to stone thee, and again thou dost go thither!' (John 11:3-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: The narrator, the evangelist (by tradition the beloved disciple, John)
Audience: The readers of the Gospel. In the scene, Jesus and his disciples have received the sisters' message (11:3).
Location: Jesus is "beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing" (10:40). Lazarus is at Bethany, "nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off" (11:18).
Time period: Shortly before Jesus' final Passover (11:55), around AD 30 or 33

Theological reading

"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When therefore he heard that he was sick, he abode at that time two days in the place where he was." The narrator places a statement of love directly before a decision to wait, and joins them with "therefore."

The love is stated first. The sisters' message had said, "he whom thou lovest is sick" (11:3), using phileō (Strong's G5368). The narrator now says Jesus loved all three, using agapaō (G25). It is best not to build much on the change of verb, since John uses both for the Father's love of the Son (3:35 and 5:20). The point is that the narrator confirms the sisters' claim and extends it to Martha and Mary.

"Therefore" ties the delay to the love. "Therefore" is oun (G3767). The sentence does not say "he loved them, but he stayed." It says he loved them, and therefore, hearing the news, he stayed. Jesus had already given the reason in 11:4: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God." Later he tells the disciples, "I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe" (11:15).

The cost is not hidden. When Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb four days (11:17), and both sisters say, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" (11:21, 32). The delay was real, and so was the grief. At the tomb, "Jesus wept" (11:35), though he was about to raise him. The passage holds love, delay, grief, and purpose together without letting any one of them cancel another. See Why Doesn't God Intervene Objection Defeater.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G0025 - agapao, agapao, Strong's G0025
G0191 - akouo, akouo, Strong's G0191
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous, Strong's G2424

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Why Doesn't God Intervene Objection Defeater

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.