Psalm 46^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^[b] A song.

Job

19 Then Job replied:

In Pisidian Antioch

¹³ From Paphos,^(A) Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia,^(B) where John^(C) left them to return to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch.^(D) On the Sabbath^(E) they entered the synagogue^(F) and sat down. ¹⁵ After the reading from the Law^(G) and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

¹⁶ Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand^(H) and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! ¹⁷ The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country;^{(I) 18} for about forty years he endured their conduct^[a](J) in the wilderness;^{(K) 19} and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan,^(L) giving their land to his people^(M) as their inheritance.^{(N) 20} All this took about 450 years.

“After this, God gave them judges^(O) until the time of Samuel the prophet.^{(P) 21} Then the people asked for a king,^(Q) and he gave them Saul^(R) son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin,^(S) who ruled forty years. ²² After removing Saul,^(T) he made David their king.^(U) God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;^(V) he will do everything I want him to do.’^(W)

²³ “From this man’s descendants^(X) God has brought to Israel the Savior^(Y) Jesus,^(Z) as he promised.^{(AA) 24} Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.^{(AB) 25} As John was completing his work,^(AC) he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for.^(AD) But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’^(AE)

¹⁸ They^(A) still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,^(B) who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out^(C) of the synagogue.^{(D) 23} That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”^(E)

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”^(F) they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”^(G)

²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already^(H) and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!^{(I) 29} We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”^(J)

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.^{(K) 32} Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God,^(L) he could do nothing.”

³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;^(M) how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.^(N)

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe^(O) in the Son of Man?”^(P)

³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”^(Q)

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”^(R)

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.^(S)

³⁹ Jesus said,^[a] “For judgment^(T) I have come into this world,^(U) so that the blind will see^(V) and those who see will become blind.”^(W)

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”^(X)

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.^(Y)