John 11:39

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” ¹  Martha, the sister of the deceased, ²  replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, ³  because he has been buried ⁴  four days.” ⁵ 

Ge 3:19; Ge 23:4; Ps 49:7,9,14; Mr 16:3; Joh 11:17; Ac 2:27; Ac 13:36; Php 3:21

¹ tn Or “Remove the stone.”

² tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”

³ tn Grk “already he stinks.”

⁴ tn Or “been there” (in the tomb – see John 11:17).

⁵ sn He has been buried four days. Although all the details of the miracle itself are not given, those details which are mentioned are important. The statement made by Martha is extremely significant for understanding what actually took place. There is no doubt that Lazarus had really died, because the decomposition of his body had already begun to take place, since he had been dead for four days.