The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
- KJV And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
- NKJV And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
- NASB Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
- NLT And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
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
Lazarus emerges still bound in graveclothes, and Jesus orders him freed. Life triumphs visibly over death.
Overview
The bound man walking from the tomb dramatizes resurrection power; Jesus then directs that he be released to live freely. The graveclothes recall Jesus' own burial wrappings, which he will later leave behind in an even greater rising. Lazarus, though raised, will die again, while Christ's resurrection conquers death forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- John 5:25Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
- John 20:7The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths.
- John 11:25–26Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- Phil 3:21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
- Luke 7:15And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.
- John 5:21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- Gen 1:3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- 1 Sam 2:6The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- John 10:30I and the Father are one.”
- Acts 20:9–12And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.
- Rev 1:18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Ps 33:9For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Ezek 37:3–10Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
- Mark 5:43Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.
- John 19:40So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.
- Hos 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
- John 11:39“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
- John 20:5He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
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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 11:44 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
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