Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.
- KJV Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
- BSB Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
- NKJV Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
- NLT Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Martha tells Jesus that if He had been there, her brother would not have died. Her words mingle faith with sorrow and gentle reproach.
Overview
Martha believes in Jesus' power to heal yet does not yet grasp His power to raise the dead. Her statement expresses both confidence in Him and the ache of disappointment. It opens the way for Jesus to reveal Himself as the resurrection and the life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 9:18While he told these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
- John 11:32Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
- 1 Kgs 17:18She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”
- Ps 78:19Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
- John 11:37Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”
- Luke 8:49–55While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”
- John 4:47–49When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
- Luke 7:6–10Jesus went with them. When he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.
- Luke 7:13–15When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”
- Ps 78:41They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 11:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.