Devine Scripture

John 11:2

What does John 11:2 mean?

A plain-English look at John 11:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What John 11:2 means

John clarifies which Mary he means by pointing to her well-known devotion—anointing the Lord and wiping His feet with her hair. This identification, though anticipating a later scene, highlights the deep love and honor that characterized this household’s relationship with Jesus. It also underscores the irony: despite such devotion, suffering still visited their home. Lazarus’s sickness touches not a stranger, but a family marked by costly love for the Lord. The verse teaches that closeness to Jesus does not exempt from trials; rather, it becomes the context in which His glory is revealed and love is experienced more deeply.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

(The Mary whose brother Lazarus was ill, was the Mary who put perfumed oil on the Lord and made his feet dry with her hair.)

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and it was Mary who did anoint the Lord with ointment, and did wipe his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ailing--

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

(And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

It was [the] Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Context

After naming Lazarus, John links him to Mary—the one famous for anointing Jesus—and to Martha. This editorial note reminds readers of the household’s reputation for honoring Jesus. It primes us to expect that Jesus will act in a way consistent with His love and their devotion. The next verse will record the sisters’ message to Jesus, an appeal based on His affection for Lazarus. This framing heightens the emotional weight of the story and prepares for Jesus’ purposeful delay and the faith-confession that will follow.

v.1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

v.2This passage

v.3The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • John 12:3

    Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

  • Luke 7:37

    And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment,

  • Matthew 26:6

    Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

  • Mark 14:3

    And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head.

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