John 11:38

John 11:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
• New International Version (NIV)Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

Context of John 11:38

36Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” 37And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:38 word by word

Ἰησοῦς οὖν πάλιν ἐμβριμώμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον· ἦν δὲ σπήλαιον, καὶ λίθος ἐπέκειτο ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• groaningἐμβριμάομαιembrimaomai · be agitatedG1690
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• comethἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the graveὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the graveμνημεῖονmnēmeion · graveG3419
• It wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a caveσπήλαιονspēlaion · caveG4693
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• a stoneλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• layἐπίκειμαιepikeimai · to lay onG1945
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• ·δέde · thenG1161

Cross-references for John 11:38

• John 11:33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
• Ezekiel 9:4and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
• Ezekiel 21:6Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.
• Mark 8:12But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”
• Genesis 23:19And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
• Genesis 49:29Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
• Isaiah 22:16‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
• Matthew 27:60and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

Commentaries on John 11:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38It was a cave, etc. - It is likely that several of the Jewish burying-places were made in the sides of rocks; some were probably dug down like a well from the upper surface, and then hollowed under into niches, and a flat stone, laid down upon the top, would serve for a door. Yet, from what the evangelist says, there seems to have been something peculiar in the formation of this tomb. It might have been a natural grotto, or dug in the side of a rock or…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38It was a cave - This was a common mode of burial. See the notes at Matthew 8:28. A stone lay upon it - Over the mouth of the cave. See Matthew 27:60.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 33-46Verses 33-46 Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of…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. 33-3833-38. When Jesus ... saw her weeping, and the Jews ... weeping ... he groaned in the spirit--the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"--made a visible effort to restrain those tears which were ready to gush from His eyes…Read the comment

Topics related to John 11:38

• Burial
• Cave
• Friendship
• Jesus, the Christ
• Lazarus
• Miracles
• Readings, Select
• Sorrow

In the dictionaries

• Jesus
• Awake
• Burial
• Cave
• Lazarus
• Martha
• Mourn
• Bethany
• Dead
• 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