2 Kings 5:10-14

5:10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored ¹  and you will be healed.” 5:11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 5:12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! ²  Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, ³  if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, ⁴  you would have been willing to do it. ⁵  It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” ⁶  5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. ⁷  His skin became as smooth as a young child’s ⁸  and he was healed.

John 2:5-8

2:5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” ⁹ 

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, ¹⁰  each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ¹¹  2:7 Jesus told the servants, ¹²  “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” ¹³  and they did.

John 11:39-41

11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” ¹⁴  Martha, the sister of the deceased, ¹⁵  replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, ¹⁶  because he has been buried ¹⁷  four days.” ¹⁸  11:40 Jesus responded, ¹⁹  “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 11:41 So they took away ²⁰  the stone. Jesus looked upward ²¹  and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. ²² 

¹ tn Heb “will return to you.”

² tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.

³ tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.

⁴ tn Heb “a great thing.”

⁵ tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”

⁶ tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).

⁷ tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”

⁸ tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”

⁹ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

¹⁰ tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”

¹¹ tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).

¹² tn Grk “them” (it is clear from the context that the servants are addressed).

¹³ tn Or “the master of ceremonies.”

¹⁴ tn Or “Remove the stone.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “already he stinks.”

¹⁷ tn Or “been there” (in the tomb – see John 11:17).

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

²⁰ tn Or “they removed.”

²¹ tn Grk “lifted up his eyes above.”

²² tn Or “that you have heard me.”