John 11:18

John 11:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
• New International Version (NIV)Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.

Context of John 11:18

16So Thomas (called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.” 17When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19so many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console them over the loss of their brother.) 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house.

John 11:18 word by word

ἦν δὲ ἡ Βηθανία ἐγγὺς τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ὡς ἀπὸ σταδίων δεκαπέντε.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Nowδέde · thenG1161
• Bethanyὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• BethanyΒηθανίαBēthania · BethanyG963
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• nigh untoἐγγύςeggus · nearG1451
• JerusalemἹεροσόλυμαHierosoluma · JerusalemG2414
• aboutὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• fifteenδεκαπέντεdekapente · fifteenG1178
• furlongsστάδιοςstadion · stadiumG4712
• offἀπόapo · away fromG575

Cross-references for John 11:18

• John 6:19Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, approaching the boat, and they were frightened.
• Luke 24:13Now that very day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
• Revelation 14:20Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles.
• Revelation 21:16Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at fourteen hundred miles (its length and width and height are equal).

Commentaries on John 11:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Fifteen furlongs - About two miles: for the Jewish miles contained about seven furlongs and a half. So Lightfoot, and the margin.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Nigh unto Jerusalem - This is added to show that it was easy for many of the Jews to come to the place. The news that Jesus was there, and the account of the miracle, would also be easily carried to the Sanhedrin. Fifteen furlongs - Nearly two miles. It was directly east from Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. ii. p. 599) says of Bethany: “It took half an hour to walk over Olivet to Bethany this morning, and the distance from the city…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-32Verses 17-32 Here was a house where the fear of God was, and on which his blessing rested; yet it was made a house of mourning. Grace will keep sorrow from the heart, but not from the house. When God, by his grace and providence, is coming towards us in ways of mercy and comfort, we should, like Martha, go forth by faith, hope, and prayer, to meet him. When Martha went to meet Jesus, Mary sat still in the house; this temper formerly had been an advantage…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-57The resurrection of Lazarus points to the future death and resurrection of Jesus. The description of Lazarus’s tomb is similar to the description of the tomb Jesus was placed in after he died (11:38, 44; 20:1, 7). Both accounts mention a cave and burial cloths. These details connect the two events and help us see that Lazarus’s story is a sign. Soon after Lazarus was raised, a woman anointed Jesus for burial (12:3). This act prepared him for his coming…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1917-19. when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days--If he died on the day the tidings came of his illness--and was, according to the Jewish custom, buried the same day (see Jahn's Archæology, and Joh 11:39; Ac 5:5, 6, 10)--and if Jesus, after two days' further stay in Perea, set out on the day following for Bethany, some ten hours' journey, that would make out the four days; the first and last being incomplete [Meyer].Read the comment

Topics related to John 11:18

• Bethany
• Friendship
• Furlong
• Jesus, the Christ
• Miracles
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Bethany
• Jerusalem
• Awake
• Furlong
• Lazarus
• Martha
• Mourn
• Dead
• Jesus Christ
• John, Gospel of

Commentaries on John 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings