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Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
John 11:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”
  • BSB So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
  • NKJV Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
  • NASB So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
  • NLT So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

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

The sisters send word to Jesus that the one He loves is sick. They appeal to His affection rather than make a demand.

Overview

Their message expresses trust in Jesus' love and an implicit hope for His help. They do not dictate what He should do but lay the need before Him. Their faith-filled appeal models how believers bring their troubles to Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • John 11:5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
  • Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
  • Heb 12:6–7For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
  • Ps 16:3But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
  • John 13:23Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
  • Phil 2:26–27For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
  • John 11:11These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
  • Gen 22:2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
  • John 11:36Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
  • 2 Tim 4:20Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
  • Jas 5:14–15Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
  • John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 11:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 11:3 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.