Jesus wept
"Jesus wept" is a phrase famous for being the shortest verse in the King James Version of the Bible, as well as many other versions. It is not the shortest in the original languages. It is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 11,.
Verse breaks—or versification—were introduced into the Greek text by Robert Estienne in 1551 in order to make the texts easier to cite and compare.
Context
This verse occurs in John's narrative of the death of Lazarus of Bethany, a follower of Jesus. Lazarus's sisters—Mary and Martha—sent word to Jesus of their brother's illness and impending death, but Jesus arrived four days after Lazarus died. Jesus, after talking to the grieving sisters and seeing Lazarus's friends weeping, was deeply troubled and moved. After asking where Lazarus had been laid, and being invited to come see, Jesus wept. He then went to the tomb and told the people to remove the stone covering it, prayed aloud to his Father, and ordered Lazarus to come out, resurrected.Luke's gospel also records that Jesus wept as he entered Jerusalem before his trial and death, anticipating the destruction of the Temple.
Text
| Translation | Text |
| Biblical Greek | ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς. Edákrusen ho Iēsous. "Jesus, he shed tears." |
| Peshitta | ܘܐܵܬ݂ܝܵܢ ܗ̄ܘܲܝ̈ ܕܸܡ̈ܥܵܘܗܝ ܕܝܼܫܘܿܥ. Wʾatiyan hway demʿawhy d-Yushwoʿ. "And the tears of Jesus came." |
| Vulgate | Et lacrimātus est Iēsus "And Jesus had wept." |
| Luther Bible | Und Jesus gingen die Augen über. "And the eyes of Jesus overcame." |
| ASV, Darby Bible, ERV, ESV, HCSB, KJV, NASB, NET, NIV, NJB, NKJV, NLT, RSV, Recovery Version, WEB, YLT | "Jesus wept." |
| Bible in Basic English | "And Jesus himself was weeping." |
| God's Word | "Jesus cried." |
| The Message | "Now Jesus wept." |
| New American Bible, Douay–Rheims Bible | "And Jesus wept." |
| New Living Translation | "Then Jesus wept." |
| New Revised Standard Version | "Jesus began to weep." |
| CJB | "Yeshua cried," |
| The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures | "Jesus gave way to tears." |
Interpretation
Significance has been attributed to Jesus's deep emotional response to his friends' weeping, and his own tears, including the following:- Weeping demonstrates that Christ was a true man, with real bodily functions. His emotions and reactions were real; Christ was not an illusion or spirit. Pope Leo the Great referred to this passage when he discussed the two natures of Jesus: "In His humanity Jesus wept for Lazarus; in His divinity he raised him from the dead."
- The sorrow, sympathy, and compassion Jesus felt for all mankind.
- The rage he felt against the tyranny of death over mankind.
- Although the bystanders interpreted his weeping to mean that Jesus loved Lazarus, Witness Lee considered the Jews' opinion to be unreasonable, given Jesus' intention to resurrect Lazarus. Lee argued instead that every person to whom Jesus talked in John 11 was blinded by their misconceptions. Thus he "groaned in his spirit" because even those who were closest to him failed to recognize that he was, as he declared in verse 26, "the resurrection and the life". Finally, at the graveside, he "wept in sympathy with their sorrow over Lazarus' death".
In history
Use as an expletive
In some places in the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, Ireland and Australia, the phrase "Jesus wept" is a common expletive spoken when something goes wrong or to express incredulity. It is also used sarcastically when expressing unsympathetic indifference to someone else's perceived unfortunate situation or self-pity.In 1965 broadcaster Richard Dimbleby accidentally used the expletive live on air during the state visit of Elizabeth II to West Germany.
It is commonly used as an expletive in novels by author Stephen King. In his book , he explained that in grade school he was forced to memorize a verse from the Bible, so he picked "Jesus wept" due to its short length. Other authors using it as an expletive include Neil Gaiman in the Sandman series, David Lodge in Nice Work, Mike Carey in the Hellblazer series and The Devil You Know, Peter F. Hamilton in The Night's Dawn Trilogy, Mark Haddon in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Dan Simmons in Hyperion Cantos, Minette Walters in Fox Evil and Jason Matthews in Red Sparrow.
This usage is also evidenced in films and television programmes including Lawrence of Arabia, Get Carter, Razorback, Hellraiser, The Stand, Michael Collins, Dogma, Notes on a Scandal, Cranford, The Bank Job, Call the Midwife, Community, The Magnificent Seven , The Haunting of Hill House , Troop Zero, and Drop The Dead Donkey.