John 9
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 While Jesus was walking, he saw a man who had been blind since the time he was born. 2 Jesus’ followers asked him, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Whose sin made it happen? Was it his own sin or that of his parents?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not any sin of this man or his parents that caused him to be blind. He was born blind so that he could be used to show what great things God can do. 4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the one who sent me. The night is coming, and no one can work at night. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the dirt, made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 Jesus told him, “Go and wash in Siloam pool.” (Siloam means “Sent.”) So the man went to the pool, washed and came back. He was now able to see.
8 His neighbors and some others who had seen him begging said, “Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs?”
9 Some people said, “Yes! He is the one.” But others said, “No, he can’t be the same man. He only looks like him.”
So the man himself said, “I am that same man.”
10 They asked, “What happened? How did you get your sight?”
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then I could see.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
He answered, “I don’t know.”
Some Pharisees Have Questions
13 Then the people brought the man to the Pharisees. 14 The day Jesus had made mud and healed the man’s eyes was a Sabbath day. 15 So the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you get your sight?”
He answered, “He put mud on my eyes. I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “That man does not obey the law about the Sabbath day. So he is not from God.”
Others said, “But someone who is a sinner cannot do these miraculous signs.” So they could not agree with each other.
17 They asked the man again, “Since it was your eyes he healed, what do you say about him?”
He answered, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still did not believe that this really happened to the man—that he was blind and was now healed. But later they sent for his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? You say he was born blind. So how can he see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know that this man is our son. And we know that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know why he can see now. We don’t know who healed his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to answer for himself.” 22 They said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The leaders had already decided that they would punish anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah. They would stop them from coming to the synagogue. 23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So the Jewish leaders called the man who had been blind. They told him to come in again. They said, “You should honor God by telling the truth. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 The man answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. But I do know this: I was blind, and now I can see.”
26 They asked, “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have already told you that. But you would not listen to me. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to be his followers too?”
28 At this they shouted insults at him and said, “You are his follower, not us! We are followers of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses. But we don’t even know where this man comes from!”
30 The man answered, “This is really strange! You don’t know where he comes from, but he healed my eyes. 31 We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he will listen to anyone who worships and obeys him. 32 This is the first time we have ever heard of anyone healing the eyes of someone born blind. 33 This man must be from God. If he were not from God, he could not do anything like this.”
34 The Jewish leaders answered, “You were born full of sin! Are you trying to teach us?” And they told the man to get out of the synagogue and to stay out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard that they had forced the man to leave, he found him and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man said, “Tell me who he is, sir, so I can believe in him.”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him. The Son of Man is the one talking with you now.”
38 The man answered, “Yes, I believe, Lord!” Then he bowed and worshiped Jesus.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world so that the world could be judged. I came so that people who are blind[a] could see. And I came so that people who think they see would become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees were near Jesus. They heard him say this. They asked, “What? Are you saying that we are blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But you say that you see, so you are still guilty.”
Footnotes
- John 9:39 people who are blind Jesus is talking about people who are spiritually blind (without understanding), not physically blind.
Johannes 9
Bibelen på hverdagsdansk
Jesus helbreder en blindfødt mand
9 Da Jesus og disciplene senere gik omkring i byen, traf de en mand, som havde været blind fra fødslen. 2 „Mester, hvorfor er den mand født blind?” spurgte disciplene. „Er det på grund af hans egne synder eller hans forældres?”
3 „Ingen af delene,” svarede Jesus. „Men det, der er sket med ham, vil føre til, at Guds kraft bliver synliggjort. 4 Så længe det endnu er ‚dag’, må jeg[a] gøre de gerninger, som Gud har lagt til rette for mig. Der kommer en ‚nat’, hvor ingen kan arbejde. 5 Mens jeg er i verden, er jeg verdens Lys.”
6 Derefter spyttede Jesus på jorden, lavede mudder af spyttet, smurte det på den blinde mands øjne 7 og sagde til ham: „Gå hen og vask dig i den dam, der kaldes Shiloa.” (Shiloa betyder „udsendt”). Manden gik så hen og vaskede sig, og da han kom tilbage, kunne han se.
8 Hans naboer og andre, der kendte ham som den blinde tigger, sagde: „Er det ikke ham, der sad og tiggede?” 9 „Jo, det må være ham,” mente nogle. Andre sagde: „Nej, det må være en, der ligner ham.”
„Det er mig!” sagde manden.
10 „Hvordan er du kommet til at se?” spurgte folk.
11 „En mand ved navn Jesus lavede noget mudder og smurte det på mine øjne,” svarede han. „Og så sagde han, at jeg skulle gå hen og vaske det af i Shiloa-dammen. Da jeg havde gjort det, kunne jeg se.”
12 „Hvor er den mand henne nu?” spurgte folk.
„Det ved jeg ikke,” svarede han.
Forhøret hos farisæerne
13 Så tog de manden, som havde været blind, med hen til farisæerne. 14 Da helbredelsen var foregået på en sabbat, 15 forhørte farisæerne ham om, hvordan han var kommet til at se. Han forklarede, hvordan Jesus havde smurt mudder på hans øjne og bedt ham vaske det af. Da han havde gjort det, kunne han se.
16 „Den mand er ikke sendt af Gud,” sagde nogle af farisæerne, „han overholder jo ikke sabbatten.” Men andre sagde: „Hvordan skulle en synder kunne gøre sådan et mirakel?” De var meget uenige om, hvad de skulle mene om Jesus.
17 Derfor spurgte de manden, der havde været blind: „Hvad mener du om ham? Det er jo dig, han har helbredt.”
„Han er en profet!” var svaret.
18 De jødiske ledere nægtede nu at tro på, at manden havde været blind. Derfor blev hans forældre tilkaldt og krydsforhørt: 19 „Er den mand her jeres søn, som I påstår er født blind? Hvordan kan det så være, at han kan se nu?”
20 „Ja, det er vores søn. Og det er rigtigt, at han er født blind. 21 Men hvordan det er gået til, at han nu kan se, eller hvem der er årsag til det, det kan vi ikke sige noget om. Spørg ham selv! Han er gammel nok til selv at svare.” 22-23 De svarede på den måde, fordi de var bange for de jødiske ledere, som havde vedtaget, at hvis nogen sagde, at Jesus var Messias, skulle de udelukkes fra synagogen.
24 For anden gang tilkaldte farisæerne manden, der havde været blind, og sagde til ham: „Giv Gud æren! Vi ved jo, at han, der helbredte dig, er et syndigt menneske.”
25 „Om han er en synder, det ved jeg ikke,” svarede manden, „men én ting ved jeg: Før var jeg blind, og nu kan jeg se!”
26 „Jamen, hvordan gjorde han det?” spurgte de. „Hvordan fik han dig til at se?”
27 „Det har jeg jo lige fortalt jer!” udbrød manden. „I hørte måske ikke efter? Hvorfor vil I ellers høre det igen? I vil da ikke være hans disciple, vel?”
28 Så skældte de ham ud: „Du kan selv være hans discipel! Vi er disciple af Moses. 29 Vi ved, at Gud talte til Moses, men vi ved ikke, hvem den her mand er.”
30 „Det var da mærkeligt,” svarede manden. „Han helbreder en blind, og I aner ikke, hvem han er. 31 Mon Gud ville bønhøre ham, hvis han var et syndigt menneske? Nej, Gud bønhører dem, der viser ham ære og gør hans vilje. 32 Har man nogensinde før hørt, at en blindfødt er blevet helbredt, så han kunne se? 33 Hvis den mand ikke kom fra Gud, kunne han ikke have gjort det.”
34 „Vil du nu til at belære os?” råbte de. „Du, som har været en synder hele dit liv!” Så jog de ham ud.[b]
Farisæernes blindhed
35 Da Jesus hørte, hvordan manden var blevet smidt ud, opsøgte han ham og spurgte: „Tror du på Menneskesønnen?” 36 „Mester, sig mig, hvem han er, så jeg kan tro på ham,” svarede manden. 37 „Du har allerede set ham,” sagde Jesus. „For det er mig, der er Menneskesønnen.” 38 „Herre, jeg tror!” svarede han og faldt på knæ foran Jesus.
39 Da sagde Jesus: „Denne verden vil blive dømt, nu da jeg er kommet. De blinde bliver seende, men de seende bliver blinde.” 40 Da nogle af de farisæere, som fulgte med Jesus, hørte det, sagde de: „Vil du måske påstå, at vi også er blinde?” 41 Jesus svarede: „Havde I været blinde, ville I have været uden skyld. Men så længe I påstår, at I kan se, er I skyldige!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Bibelen på hverdagsdansk (Danish New Living Bible) Copyright © 2002, 2006 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.