Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith to her: Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, thinking it was the gardener, saith to him: Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus says to her, Woman, why dost thou weep? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing that it was the gardener, says to him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith to her, 'Woman, why dost thou weep? whom dost thou seek;' she, supposing that he is the gardener, saith to him, 'Sir, if thou didst carry him away, tell me where thou didst lay him, and I will take him away;'

Jesus said to her, Woman, why weep you? whom seek you? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

"Why are you weeping?" He asked; "who are you looking for?" She, supposing that He was the gardener, replied, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will remove him."

Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? who are you looking for? She, taking him for the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have taken him away from here, say where you have put him and I will take him away.

Jesus said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?" Considering that it was the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have moved him, tell me where you have placed him, and I will take him away."

"Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" he asked. Supposing him to be the gardener, Mary answered, "If it was you, Sir, who carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away myself."

Lord, if thou hast carried him hence. She calls him Lord, according to the custom of her nation; for the same appellation, Lord, (Kurie [1] ) is employed by the Hebrews in addressing laborers and other persons of low condition. We see that Mary has no view of this matter but what is earthly. She desires only to obtain the dead body of Christ, that she may keep it hidden in the sepulcher; but she leaves out the most important matter, the elevation of her mind to the divine power of his resurrection. We need not wonder, therefore, if such grovelling views place a veil before her eyes.

Footnotes

1 - The salutation, Kurie was addressed to persons of various ranks, and answers to the modern term, Sir. -- Ed.

Supposing him to be the gardener - Κηπουρος, the inspector or overseer of the garden, from κηπος, a garden, and ουρος, an inspector - the person who had the charge of the workmen, and the care of the produce of the garden; and who rendered account to the owner.
And I will take him away - How true is the proverb, Love feels no load! Jesus was in the prime of life when he was crucified, and had a hundred pounds weight of spices added to his body; and yet Mary thinks of nothing less than carrying him away with her, if she can but find where he is laid!

Jesus saith unto her, woman, why weepest thou,.... The same question he puts to her, as was put by the angels: adding,
whom seekest thou? for she was not only weeping for the loss of him, but was inquiring after him, if anyone saw him removed from thence, and where he was carried:
she supposing him to be the gardener; that had the care of the garden, in which the sepulchre was; for not the owner of the garden, who was Joseph, but the keeper of it is meant; she could not imagine that Joseph should be there so early in the morning, but might reasonably think the gardener was:
saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away; she addresses him, though she took him to be but the gardener, in a very civil and courteous manner; which was rightly judged, especially since she had a favour to ask of him: she does not mention the name of her Lord, but imagined he knew who she meant, being so lately buried there; and suggests, that perhaps it might not have been so agreeable to the gardener to have his body lie there, and therefore had removed it; and would he but be so kind as to let her know where he was put, she, with the assistance of her friends close by, would take him away with them: so in a spiritual sense, a truly gracious soul is willing to do anything, and to be at any trouble, so that it may but enjoy Christ; it dearly loves him, as this good woman did; it early, and earnestly, and with its whole heart, seeks after him, as she did; and absence of him, or loss of his presence for a while, sharpens the desire after him, and makes his presence the more welcome.

Sir, if thou have borne him hence--borne whom? She says not. She can think only of One, and thinks others must understand her. It reminds one of the question of the Spouse, "Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?" (Song 3:3).
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away--Wilt thou, dear fragile woman? But it is the language of sublime affection, that thinks itself fit for anything if once in possession of its Object. It is enough. Like Joseph, He can no longer restrain Himself (Genesis 45:1).