醫治盲人

耶穌在路上看見一個生來失明的人。 門徒問耶穌:「老師,這個人生下來便雙目失明,是因為他犯了罪呢,還是他父母犯了罪呢?」

耶穌說:「不是他犯了罪,也不是他父母犯了罪,而是要在他身上彰顯上帝的作為。 趁著白天,我們必須做差我來者的工作,黑夜一到,就沒有人能工作了。 我在世上的時候,是世界的光。」

耶穌講完後,便吐唾沫在地上,用唾沫和泥抹在那盲人的眼睛上, 對他說:「到西羅亞池去洗洗!」西羅亞是「奉差遣」的意思。那盲人照著去做,回來的時候已經能看見了。

他的鄰居和從前見他討飯的人說:「他不是那個常在這裡討飯的人嗎?」

有人說:「是他。」有人說:「不是他,只是長得像他。」

他自己說:「我就是那個人。」

10 他們問:「你的眼睛是怎麼好的?」

11 他回答說:「有一位叫耶穌的人和泥抹我的眼睛,叫我到西羅亞池子去洗。我照著去做,眼睛就能看見了。」

12 他們問:「那個人現在在哪裡?」他說:「我不知道。」

盤問復明的盲人

13 他們就把這個從前失明的人帶到法利賽人那裡。 14 耶穌和泥開他眼睛的那天是安息日。 15 法利賽人也查問他的眼睛是怎麼復明的。盲人便對他們說:「祂把泥抹在我的眼睛上,我去一洗,眼睛就看見了。」

16 有些法利賽人說:「那個人不是從上帝那裡來的,因為祂不守安息日。」有些人卻說:「如果祂是個罪人,又怎能行這樣的神蹟呢?」他們就爭論起來。

17 於是,他們又問那個盲人:「既然祂開了你的眼睛,你認為祂是什麼人?」

他說:「祂是先知。」

18 猶太人不相信他以前是瞎眼的,現在能看見了,便叫來他的父母, 19 問他們:「這是你們的兒子嗎?你們不是說他生來就瞎眼嗎?怎麼現在能看見了?」

20 他父母回答說:「我們知道他是我們的兒子,生來雙目失明。 21 至於他現在怎麼能看見了,我們就不知道了。是誰醫好了他,我們也不知道。他現在已經長大成人,你們可以去問他,他自己可以回答。」

22 他父母因為害怕那些猶太人,所以才這樣說,因為那些猶太人早就商量好了,誰承認耶穌是基督,就把他趕出會堂。 23 因此他父母才說他已經長大成人,叫他們去問他。

24 法利賽人又把那個從前失明的人叫來,對他說:「你應該把榮耀歸給上帝[a]!我們知道那個人是罪人。」

25 他說:「祂是不是罪人,我不知道;我只知道從前我是瞎眼的,現在能看見了。」

26 他們就問他:「祂向你做了些什麼?祂是怎樣醫好你眼睛的?」

27 他回答說:「我已經告訴過你們了,你們不聽,現在又問,難道你們也想作祂的門徒嗎?」

28 他們就罵他:「你才是祂的門徒!我們是摩西的門徒。 29 我們知道上帝曾對摩西講話,至於這個人,我們不知道祂是從哪裡來的。」

30 那人說:「祂開了我的眼睛,你們竟不知道祂從哪裡來,真是奇怪。 31 我們知道上帝不聽罪人的禱告,只聽那些敬拜祂、遵行祂旨意者的禱告。 32 從創世以來,從未聽過有人能把天生失明的人醫好。 33 如果這個人不是從上帝那裡來的,就什麼也不能做。」

34 法利賽人斥責他:「你這生來就深陷罪中的傢伙,居然敢教導我們!」於是把他趕了出去。

35 耶穌聽說了這事,後來祂找到這個人,對他說:「你信上帝的兒子嗎?」

36 他說:「先生,誰是上帝的兒子?我要信祂。」

37 耶穌說:「你已經看見祂了,現在跟你說話的就是祂。」

38 他說:「主啊!我信!」他就敬拜耶穌。

39 耶穌說:「我為了審判來到這世界,使瞎眼的可以看見,使看得見的反成了瞎眼的。」

40 有些跟祂在一起的法利賽人聽了這句話,就問:「難道我們也瞎了眼嗎?」

41 耶穌說:「如果你們是瞎眼的,就沒有罪了。但現在你們自稱看得見,所以你們的罪還在。」

Footnotes

  1. 9·24 這是古時叫人在上帝面前起誓說實話的慣用語,參見約書亞記7·19

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, (A)who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, (B)but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (C)I[a] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is (D)day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, (E)I am the light of the world.”

When He had said these things, (F)He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash (G)in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So (H)he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was [b]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

Some said, “This is he.” Others said, [c]“He is like him.”

He said, “I am he.

10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered and said, (I)“A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to [d]the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”

He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man

13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not [e]keep the Sabbath.”

Others said, (J)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And (K)there was a division among them.

17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”

He said, (L)“He is a prophet.”

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because (M)they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he (N)would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, (O)“Give God the glory! (P)We know that this Man is a sinner.”

25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God (Q)spoke to (R)Moses; as for this fellow, (S)we do not know where He is from.”

30 The man answered and said to them, (T)“Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that (U)God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 (V)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

34 They answered and said to him, (W)“You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they [f]cast him out.

True Vision and True Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had (X)found him, He said to him, “Do you (Y)believe in (Z)the Son of [g]God?”

36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and (AA)it is He who is talking with you.”

38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he (AB)worshiped Him.

39 And Jesus said, (AC)“For judgment I have come into this world, (AD)that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, (AE)and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

41 Jesus said to them, (AF)“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

Footnotes

  1. John 9:4 NU We
  2. John 9:8 NU a beggar
  3. John 9:9 NU “No, but he is like him.”
  4. John 9:11 NU omits the pool of
  5. John 9:16 observe
  6. John 9:34 Excommunicated him
  7. John 9:35 NU Man

Bringing Light to the Blind

As Yeshua was passing by, He saw a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”

Yeshua answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be brought to light in him. We must do the work of the One who sent Me, so long as it is day! Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Having said these things, He spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which is translated Sent). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore his neighbors and those who had seen him as a beggar kept saying, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”

“This is the one!” some said.

“No, but it looks like him,” said others.

But the man himself kept saying, “I am!”

10 So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered, “The Man who is called Yeshua made mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and then I received my sight!”

12 “Where is He?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

13 They bring to the Pharisees the man who once was blind. 14 Now the day was Shabbat when Yeshua made the mud and opened the man’s eyes. 15 So again the Pharisees were asking him how he received his sight. He responded, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see!”

16 So some of the Pharisees began saying, “This man isn’t from God, because He doesn’t keep Shabbat!” But others were saying, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So there was a split among them.

17 Again they say to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”

And he said, “He’s a prophet.”

18 So the Judean leaders didn’t believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they called his parents. 19 They questioned them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he see now?”

20 Then his parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 We don’t know how he now sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him—he’s old enough. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Judean leaders. For the Judean leaders had already agreed that anyone who professed Yeshua to be Messiah would be thrown out of the synagogue. 23 That’s why his parents said, “He’s old enough—ask him.”

24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner!”

25 The man replied, “I don’t know whether He’s a sinner. One thing I do know is that I was blind, but now I see!”

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

27 “I told you already and you didn’t listen!” the man responded. “What, do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become His disciples too, do you?”

28 They railed at him and said, “You’re a disciple of that One, but we’re disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this fellow, we don’t know where He is from.”

30 The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners; but if anyone fears Him and does His will, He hears this one. 32 Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard that anyone has opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do anything.”

34 They replied to him, “You were born completely in sin, and you’re teaching us?” And they threw him out.

Is Seeing Believing?

35 Yeshua heard that they had thrown him out. Finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”[a]

36 The man answered, “Who is He, Sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in Him!”

37 Yeshua said, “You have seen Him—He is the One speaking with you.”

38 He said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

39 Yeshua said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who don’t see may see, and the ones who do see may become blind.”

40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, “We’re not blind too, are we?”

41 Yeshua said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ So your sin remains.”

Footnotes

  1. John 9:35 Some mss. say the Son of God (Ben-Elohim).

True Blindness

1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”

6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw.

Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?”

Others said, “It’s him all right!”

But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all. It just looks like him.”

He said, “It’s me, the very one.”

10 They said, “How did your eyes get opened?”

11 “A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.”

12 “So where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

13-15 They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, “He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Obviously, this man can’t be from God. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath.”

Others countered, “How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?” There was a split in their ranks.

17 They came back at the blind man, “You’re the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?”

He said, “He is a prophet.”

18-19 The Jews didn’t believe it, didn’t believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?”

20-23 His parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he came to see—haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That’s why his parents said, “Ask him. He’s a grown man.”)

24 They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.”

25 He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.”

26 They said, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”

28-29 With that they jumped all over him. “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.”

30-33 The man replied, “This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

34 They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street.

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?”

38 “Master, I believe,” the man said, and worshiped him.

39 Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”

40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”