And it came to pass after this that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.18 And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?19 And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.20 And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a so maintained, so as to kill her son?21 And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.23 And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.24 And the woman said to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.
As we mentioned, that widow prefigured the church, and her son was a type of the Gentiles. The son of the widow lay dead because the son of the church, that is, the Gentiles, was dead because of many sins and offenses. At the prayer of Elijah, the widow's son was revived; at the coming of Christ, the church's son or the Christian people were brought back from the prison of death. Elijah bent down in prayer, and the widow's son was revived; Christ sank down in his passion, and the Christian people were brought back to life. Why blessed Elijah bent down three times to arouse the boy I believe that the understanding of your charity has grasped even before I say it. In the fact that he bowed three times is shown the mystery of the Trinity. Not only the Father without the Son, nor the Father and Son without the Holy Spirit, but the whole Trinity restored the widow's son or the Gentiles to life. Moreover, this is further demonstrated in the sacrament of baptism, for the old person is plunged in the water three times, in order that the new person may merit to rise.
Now there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and Martha her sister.2 (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)3 His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.4 And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.7 Then after that, he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.8 The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?9 Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world:10 But if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.11 These things he said; and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.†12 His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.13 But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.14 Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead.15 And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.17 Jesus therefore came, and found that he had been four days already in the grave.18 (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)19 And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.20 Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus had come, went to meet him: but Mary sat at home.21 Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.22 But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.23 Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again.24 Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day.25 Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live:†26 And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?27 She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.28 And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come, and calleth for thee.29 She, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly, and cometh to him.30 For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.31 The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave to weep there.32 When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.33 Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself,†34 And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see.35 And Jesus wept.†36 The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.37 But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre. Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it.39 Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.†40 Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?41 They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.42 And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.43 When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.44 And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him, and let him go.45 Many therefore of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.
(tom. in Joan. xxviii.) The delay in taking away the stone was caused by the sister of the dead, who said, By this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. If she had not said this, it would not be said, Jesus said, Take away the stone. Some delay had arisen; it is best to let nothing come between the commands of Jesus and doing them.
(tom. xxviii.) He lifted up His eyes; mystically, He lifted up the human mind by prayer to the Father above. We should pray after Christ’s pattern, Lift up the eyes of our heart, and raise them above present things in memory, in thought, in intention. If to them who pray worthily after this fashion is given the promise in Isaiah, Thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am; (Isa. 58:9) what answer, think we, our Lord and Saviour would receive? He was about to pray for the resurrection of Lazarus. He was heard by the Father before He prayed; His request was granted before mad. And therefore He begins with giving thanks; I thank Thee, Father, that Thou hast heard Me.
(t. xxviii. 10.) Our Lord had said above, Because of the people that stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me. It would have been ignorance of the future, if He had said this, and none believed, after all. Therefore it follows: Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him. But some of them went their way to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. It is doubtful from these words, whether those who went to the Pharisees, were of those many who believed, and meant to conciliate the opponents of Christ; or whether they were of the unbelieving party, and wished to inflame the envy of the Pharisees against Him. The latter seems to me the true supposition; especially as the Evangelist describes those who believed as the larger party. Many believed; whereas it is only a few who go to the Pharisees: Some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
(t. xxviii.) His cry and loud voice it was which awoke him, as Christ had said, I go to awake him. The resurrection of Lazarus is the work of the Father also, in that He heard the prayer of the Son. It is the joint work of Father and Son, one praying, the other hearing; for as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. (5:21)
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)