John 11:5

11:5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) ¹ 

John 11:11

11:11 After he said this, he added, ²  “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. ³  But I am going there to awaken him.”

John 12:2

12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus ⁴  there. Martha ⁵  was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table ⁶  with him.

John 12:9

12:9 Now a large crowd of Judeans ⁷  learned ⁸  that Jesus ⁹  was there, and so they came not only because of him ¹⁰  but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.

John 12:17

12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. ¹¹ 

Luke 16:20-25

16:20 But at his gate lay ¹²  a poor man named Lazarus ¹³  whose body was covered with sores, ¹⁴  16:21 who longed to eat ¹⁵  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ¹⁶  came and licked ¹⁷  his sores.

16:22 “Now ¹⁸  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ¹⁹  The ²⁰  rich man also died and was buried. ²¹  16:23 And in hell, ²²  as he was in torment, ²³  he looked up ²⁴  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ²⁵  16:24 So ²⁶  he called out, ²⁷  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ²⁸  to dip the tip of his finger ²⁹  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ³⁰  in this fire.’ ³¹  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ³²  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ³³ 

[11:5]  ¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It was necessary for the author to reaffirm Jesus’ love for Martha and her sister and Lazarus here because Jesus’ actions in the following verse appear to be contradictory.

[11:11]  ² tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”

[11:11]  ³ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “reclining at the table.”

[12:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “of the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area who by this time had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and were curious to see him.

[12:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “knew.”

[12:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the referent (Jesus) has been specified here.

[12:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Jesus”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the pronoun (“him”) has been substituted here.

[12:17]  ¹¹ tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[16:20]  ¹² tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).

[16:20]  ¹³ sn This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.

[16:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[16:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ¹⁶ tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ¹⁷ sn When the dogs came and licked his sores it meant that he was unclean. See the negative image of Rev 22:15 that draws on this picture.

[16:22]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Now it happened that the.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[16:22]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).

[16:22]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ²¹ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ²² sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ²³ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”

[16:24]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ²⁷ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ²⁸ sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)

[16:24]  ²⁹ sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.

[16:24]  ³⁰ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ³¹ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[16:25]  ³² tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ³³ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.