John 11:21 BSB — MannaFest

John 11:21

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Martha therefore said unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

KJV

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

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Commentary

2 voices

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 7 (Fragments) (444)

What Martha says, amounts to this. "Not for this reason," she says, "did my brother die, because the nature of man is subject to death; but because Thou wast not present, Who art able by Thy word to conquer death." But in her grief, wandering beyond propriety, she considered that the Lord was no longer able to do anything, as the time for help had gone by; and she thought that He had come, not for the raising again of Lazarus, bat that He might console them.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

When said Martha unto Jesus,.... When she was come to him, Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died: which expresses much faith, but with a mixture of weakness, as if the presence of Christ was necessary for the working a cure; whereas he could as well have restored her brother to health absent, as present, had it been his will, as he did the centurion's servant, and the nobleman's son of Capernaum.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died--As Mary afterwards said the same thing (Joh 11:32), it is plain they had made this very natural remark to each other, perhaps many times during these four sad days, and not without having their confidence in His love at times overclouded. Such trials of faith, however, are not peculiar to them.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him--true to the energy and activity of her character, as seen in Lu 10:38-42. (See on Lu 10:38-42). but Mary sat . . . in the house--equally true to her placid character.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

17 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
εἶπεν	eipen	Said	G2036 →
οὖν	oun	then	G3767 →
ἡ	hē	<the>	G3588 →
Μάρθα	Martha	Martha	G3136 →
πρὸς	pros	to	G4314 →
τὸν	ton	<the>	G3588 →
Ἰησοῦν·	Iēsoun	Jesus;	G2424 →
κύριε,	kurie	Lord,	G2962 →
εἰ	ei	if	G1487 →
ἦς	ēs	You had been	G1510 →
ὧδε,	hōde	here,	G5602 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
ἂν	an	then would	G302 →
ἀπέθανεν	apethanen	be dead	G599 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
ἀδελφός	adelphos	brother	G80 →
μου.	mou	of mine.	G3165 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
1 Kings 17:18
“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
leads to
- Luke 5:8
  When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Matthew 9:18
While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”
leads to
- Mark 5:22–43
  A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet
- Luke 8:41–56
  Just then a synagogue leader named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Him to come to his house,
- Matthew 8:2
  Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
- 2 Kings 5:11
  But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure…
Through
John 11:32
When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
leads to
- Luke 17:16
  He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
- Luke 8:41
  Just then a synagogue leader named Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet. He begged Him to come to his house,
Through
John 11:37
But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
leads to
- John 9:6–7
  When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.