John 11 · Verse 3

John 11:3

Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
John 11:3, King James Version

John 11:3 in other translations

BSBSo the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
WEBThe sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”
ASVThe sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
YLTtherefore sent the sisters unto him, saying, ‘Sir, lo, he whom thou dost love is ailing;'
DARBYThe sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
BBESo the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, your dear friend is ill.
WebsterTherefore his sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

What does John 11:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 11:3-5
3-5. his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick--a most womanly appeal, yet how reverential, to the known affection of her Lord for the patient. (See Joh 11:5, 11). "Those whom Christ loves are no more exempt than others from their share of earthly trouble and anguish: rather are they bound over to it more surely" [Trench].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 3. Whom thou lovest, Jn 11:5. The members of this family were among the few peculiar and intimate friends of our Lord. He was much with them, and showed them marks of special friendship Lk 10:38-42, and they bestowed upon him peculiar proof of affection in return. This shows that special attachments are lawful for Christians, and that those friendships are peculiarly lovely which are tempered and sweetened with the spirit of Christ. Friendships should always be cemented by religion, and one main end of those attachments should be to aid one another in the great business of preparing to die.

Sent unto him. They believed that he had power to heal him (Jn 11:21), though they did not then seem to suppose that he could raise him if he died. Perhaps there were two reasons why they sent for him; one, because they supposed he would be desirous of seeing his friend; the other, because they supposed he could restore him. In sickness we should implore the aid and presence of Jesus. He only can restore us and our friends; he only can perform for us the office of a friend when all other friends fail; and he only can cheer us with the hope of a blessed resurrection.

(c) "whom thou lovest" Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 He whom thou lovest is sick - Nothing could be more simple, nor more modest, than this prayer: they do not say, Come and heal him: or, Command the disease to depart even where thou art, and it will obey thee: - they content themselves with simply stating the case, and using an indirect but a most forcible argument, to induce our Lord to show forth his power and goodness: - He is sick, and thou lovest him; therefore thou canst neither abandon him, not us.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 11:1-6

It is no new thing for those whom Christ loves, to be sick; bodily distempers correct the corruption, and try the graces of God's people. He came not to preserve his people from these afflictions, but to save them from their sins, and from the wrath to come; however, it behoves us to apply to Him in behalf of our friends and relatives when sick and afflicted. Let this reconcile us to the darkest dealings of…

Read the full comment on John 11:1-6 →

John 11:3 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἀπέστειλανapesteilanSentG649
οὖνounthereforeG3767
αἱhaitheG3588
ἀδελφαὶadelphaisistersG79
πρὸςprostoG4314
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
λέγουσαι·legousaisaying;G3004
κύριε,kurieLord,G2962
ἴδεidebeholdG2396
ὃνhon[he] whomG3739
φιλεῖςphileisYou loveG5368
ἀσθενεῖ.¶astheneiwas being sick.G770

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 11:3

  • John 11:5

    Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

  • Revelation 3:19

    As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

  • Hebrews 12:6-7

    For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

  • John 13:23

    Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

  • Psalms 16:3

    But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

  • John 11:11

    These 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.

  • 2 Timothy 4:20

    Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

  • Genesis 22:2

    And 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 11:36

    Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

  • Philippians 2:26-27

    For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

  • James 5:14-15

    Is 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

  • John 11:1

    Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he.
1,5; 13:23; Ge 22:2; Ps 16:3; Php 2:26,27; 2Ti 4:20; Heb 12:6,7
Jas 5:14,15; Re 3:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 11:2

    (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

  • John 11:3

    Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

  • John 11:4

    When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Read all of John 11

John 11:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Enviaron, pues, sus hermanas á él, diciendo: Señor, he aquí, el que amas está enfermo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Les sœurs donc envoyèrent vers lui, disant: Seigneur, voici, celui que tu aimes est malade.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sandten die Schwestern zu ihm und ließen ihm sagen: Herr, siehe, der, den du lieb hast, ist krank.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Miserunt ergo sorores ejus ad eum dicentes: Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.