John 11:4

THE MESSAGE

When Jesus got the message, he said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God,

King James Version (1611)
When Iesus heard that, hee said, This sicknesse is not vnto death, but for the glory of God, that the Sonne of God might be glorified thereby.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

New American Standard Bible
But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

New Century Version
When Jesus heard this, he said, "This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God."

Amplified Bible
When Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness will not end in death; but [on the contrary it is] for the glory and honor of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Legacy Standard Bible
But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Berean Standard Bible
When Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Contemporary English Version
When Jesus heard this, he said, "His sickness won't end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son."

Complete Jewish Bible
On hearing it, he said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may receive glory through it."

Darby Translation
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 by it.

Easy-to-Read Version
When Jesus heard this he said, "The end of this sickness will not be death. No, this sickness is for the glory of God. This has happened to bring glory to the Son of God."

Geneva Bible (1587)
When Iesus heard it, he saide, This sickenes is not vnto death, but for the glorie of God, that the Sonne of God might be glorified thereby.

George Lamsa Translation
Jesus said, This is not a sickness of death, but for the sake of the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified on his account.

Good News Translation
When Jesus heard it, he said, "The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory."

Lexham English Bible
And when he heard it, Jesus said, "This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Literal Translation
And hearing, Jesus said, This is not sickness to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God be glorified by it.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
When this came to his ears, Jesus said, The end of this disease is not death, but the glory of God, so that the Son of God may have glory because of it.

Hebrew Names Version
But when Yeshua 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."

International Standard Version
But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness is not meant to end in death. It is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."John 9:3,40;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But Jeshu said, This sickness is not of death, but for the glory of Aloha, that the Son of Aloha may be glorified on account of it.

Murdock Translation
And Jesus said: This sickness is not that of death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When Iesus hearde that, he sayde, this infirmitie is not vnto death: but for the glory of God, that the sonne of God, myght be glorified therby.

English Revised Version
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.

World English Bible
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."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Jesus hearing it, said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.

Weymouth's New Testament
Jesus received the message and said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is to promote the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jhesus herde, and seide to hem, This syknesse is not to the deth, but for the glorie of God, that mannus sone be glorified bi hym.

Update Bible Version
But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.

Webster's Bible Translation
When Jesus heard [that], he said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.

New English Translation
When Jesus heard this, he said, "This sickness will not lead to death, but to God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

New King James Version
When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

New Living Translation
But when Jesus heard about it he said, "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this."

New Life Bible
When Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness will not end in death. It has happened so that it will bring honor to God. And the Son of God will be honored by it also."

New Revised Standard
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."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But Jesus hearing, said - This sickness, is not unto death, but for the glory of God, - that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.

Revised Standard Version
But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When Iesus hearde yt he sayd: this infirmite is not vnto deth but for ye laude of God that the sonne of God myght be praysed by the reason of it.

Young's Literal Translation
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.'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Wha Iesus herde that, he sayde: This sicknesse is not vnto death, but for the prayse of God, yt the sonne of God maye be praysed there thorow.

Mace New Testament (1729)
when Jesus heard that, he said, the disease is not to be mortal, but is design'd for the glory of God, that the son of God might be glorified thereby.

Simplified Cowboy Version
When Jesus got the message, he said, "This sickness will not result in death, but it will lead to glory for the Son of God—the Top Hand."

Contextual Overview

¹A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. This was the same Mary who massaged the Lord's feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Master, the one you love so very much is sick." ⁴ When Jesus got the message, he said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. After the two days, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." ⁸ They said, "Rabbi, you can't do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you're going back?" ⁹Jesus replied, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn't stumble because there's plenty of light from the sun. Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he can't see where he's going." ¹¹ He said these things, and then announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I'm going to wake him up." ¹²The disciples said, "Master, if he's gone to sleep, he'll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine." Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap. ¹⁴Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him." ¹⁶ That's when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, "Come along. We might as well die with him."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

This: John 9:3, Mark 5:39-42, Romans 11:11

for: John 11:40, John 9:24, John 12:28, John 13:31, John 13:32, Philippians 1:11, 1 Peter 4:11, 1 Peter 4:14

that: John 2:11, John 5:23, John 8:54, John 13:31, John 13:32, John 17:1, John 17:5, John 17:10, Philippians 1:20, 1 Peter 1:21

Reciprocal: Exodus 16:7 - ye shall 1 Kings 17:17 - the son of the woman Psalms 118:17 - die Matthew 9:24 - not Luke 8:52 - she John 7:18 - seeketh his glory John 8:49 - but John 11:15 - to Acts 9:37 - she was Acts 9:42 - and many Philippians 2:27 - nigh 2 Thessalonians 1:10 - to be glorified

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.

Deuteronomy 9:1
Attention, Israel! This very day you are crossing the Jordan to enter the land and dispossess nations that are much bigger and stronger than you are. You're going to find huge cities with sky-high fortress-walls and gigantic people, descendants of the Anakites—you've heard all about them; you've heard the saying, "No one can stand up to an Anakite."

2 Samuel 8:13
David built a victory monument on his return from defeating the Arameans. Abishai son of Zeruiah fought and defeated the Edomites in the Salt Valley. Eighteen thousand of them were killed. David set up a puppet government in Edom, and the Edomites became subjects under David. God gave David victory wherever he marched.

Proverbs 10:7
A good and honest life is a blessed memorial; a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When Jesus heard that,.... That his friend Lazarus was sick,

he said; either to his disciples, or to the messenger or messengers that brought the account to him, and that on purpose to yield some relief to the afflicted family when it should be reported to them:

this sickness is not unto death; it was to issue in death, but not in death which was to continue, or under which Lazarus was to continue till the general resurrection; for though he should die, yet he should be so quickly restored again to life, that it scarcely deserved the name of death. The Jews distinguish between sickness and sickness; there are some that are sick, the greater part of whom are, לחיים, "for life"; and there are others that are "sick", the greater part of whom are, למיתה, "for death" z, or are sick unto death, whose sickness issues in death; but this of Lazarus's was not to be unto death, at least not finally:

but for the glory of God; of his power and goodness in raising him again:

that the Son of God might be glorified thereby; that is, that his glory, as the Son of God, might be made manifest in the resurrection of him from the dead; see John 2:11.

z T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 71. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This sickness is not unto death - The word “death” here is equivalent to remaining under death, Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death” - permanent or unchanging death, opposed to eternal life. Jesus evidently did not intend to deny that he would die. The words which he immediately adds show that he would expire, and that he would raise him up to show forth the power and glory of God. Compare John 11:11. Those words cannot be understood on any other supposition than that he expected to raise him up. The Saviour often used expressions similar to this to fix the attention on what he was about to say in explanation. The sense may be thus expressed: “His sickness is not fatal. It is not designed for his death, but to furnish an opportunity for a signal display of the glory of God, and to furnish a standing proof of the truth of religion. It is intended to exhibit the power of the Son of God, and to be a proof at once of the truth of his mission; of his friendship for this family; of his mild, tender, special love as a man; of his power and glory as the Messiah; and of the great doctrine that the dead will rise.

For the glory of God - That God may be honored. See John 9:3.

That the Son of God ... - The glory of God and of his Son is the same. That which promotes the one promotes also the other. Few things could do it more than the miracle which follows, evincing at once the lovely and tender character of Jesus as a man and a friend, and his power as the equal with God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 11:4. This sickness is not unto death — Not to final privation of life at this time; but a temporary death shall be now permitted, that the glory of God may appear in the miracle of his resurrection. It is very likely that this verse contains the message which Christ sent back, by the person whom the afflicted sisters had sent to him; and this, no doubt, served much to strengthen their confidence, though their faith must have been greatly exercised by the death of their brother: for when this took place, though they buried him, yet they believed, even then, probably on the ground of this message, that Jesus might raise him from the dead. See John 11:22.