Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, (A)“Rabbi, (B)who sinned, (C)this man or (D)his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but (E)that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must (F)work the works of him who sent me (G)while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, (H)I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, (I)he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. (J)Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in (K)the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and (L)came back seeing.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, (M)“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, (N)“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 (O)Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 (P)So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not (Q)from God, (R)for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, (S)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And (T)there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, (U)“He is a prophet.”

18 (V)The Jews[a] did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things (W)because they feared the Jews, for (X)the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should (Y)confess Jesus[b] to be Christ, (Z)he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, (AA)“He is of age; ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, (AB)“Give glory to God. We know that (AC)this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I (AD)was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, (AE)“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but (AF)we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, (AG)we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is (AH)an amazing thing! (AI)You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that (AJ)God does not listen to sinners, but (AK)if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 (AL)If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, (AM)“You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they (AN)cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in (AO)the Son of Man?”[c] 36 He answered, (AP)“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and (AQ)it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, (AR)“For judgment I came into this world, (AS)that those who do not see may see, and (AT)those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, (AU)“Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, (AV)you would have no guilt;[d] but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Footnotes

  1. John 9:18 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 22
  2. John 9:22 Greek him
  3. John 9:35 Some manuscripts the Son of God
  4. John 9:41 Greek you would not have sin

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

12 “Where is he now?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[b] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Spiritual Blindness

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?[c]

36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

39 Then Jesus told him,[d] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see[e] that they are blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

Footnotes

  1. 9:4 Other manuscripts read I must quickly carry out the tasks assigned me by the one who sent me; still others read We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me.
  2. 9:24 Or Give glory to God, not to Jesus; Greek reads Give glory to God.
  3. 9:35 Some manuscripts read the Son of God? “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
  4. 9:38-39a Some manuscripts do not include “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. Then Jesus told him.
  5. 9:39b Greek those who see.

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.

10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, 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 that had received his sight.

19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth 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 seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.

34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth.

His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?

Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.

We must work the works of Him Who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight; night is coming on, when no man can work.

As long as I am in the world, I am the world’s Light.

When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay (mud) with His saliva, and He spread it [as ointment] on the man’s eyes.

And He said to him, Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam—which means Sent. So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

When the neighbors and those who used to know him by sight as a beggar saw him, they said, Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?

Some said, It is he. Others said, No, but he looks very much like him. But he said, Yes, I am the man.

10 So they said to him, How were your eyes opened?

11 He replied, The Man called Jesus made mud and smeared it on my eyes and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and I obtained my sight!

12 They asked him, Where is He? He said, I do not know.

13 Then they conducted to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.

14 Now it was on the Sabbath day that Jesus mixed the mud and opened the man’s eyes.

15 So now again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight. And he said to them, He smeared mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.

16 Then some of the Pharisees said, This Man [Jesus] is not from God, because He does not observe the Sabbath. But others said, How can a man who is a sinner (a bad man) do such signs and miracles? So there was a difference of opinion among them.

17 Accordingly they said to the blind man again, What do you say about Him, seeing that He opened your eyes? And he said, He is [He must be] a prophet!

18 However, the Jews did not believe that he had [really] been blind and that he had received his sight until they called (summoned) the parents of the man.

19 They asked them, Is this your son, whom you reported as having been born blind? How then does he see now?

20 His parents answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.

21 But as to how he can now see, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age. Ask him; let him speak for himself and give his own account of it.

22 His parents said this because they feared [the leaders of] the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, he should be expelled and excluded from the synagogue.

23 On that account his parents said, He is of age; ask him.

24 So the second time they summoned the man who had been born blind, and said to him, Now give God the glory (praise). This [a]Fellow we know is only a sinner (a wicked person).

25 Then he answered, I do not know whether He is a sinner and wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see.

26 So they said to him, What did He [actually] do to you? How did He open your eyes?

27 He answered, I already told you and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Can it be that you wish to become His disciples also?

28 And they stormed at him [they jeered, they sneered, they reviled him] and retorted, You are His disciple yourself, but we are the disciples of Moses.

29 We know for certain that God spoke with Moses, but as for this Fellow, we know nothing about where He hails from.

30 The man replied, Well, this is astonishing! Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from. [That is amazing!]

31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him.

32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.

33 If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this.

34 They retorted, You were wholly born in sin [from head to foot]; and do you [presume to] teach us? So they cast him out [threw him clear outside the synagogue].

35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and meeting him He said, Do you believe in and adhere to the Son of Man [b]or the Son of God?

36 He answered, Who is He, Sir? Tell me, that I may believe in and adhere to Him.

37 Jesus said to him, You have seen Him; [in fact] He is talking to you right now.

38 He called out, Lord, I believe! [I rely on, I trust, I cleave to You!] And he worshiped Him.

39 Then Jesus said, I came into this world for judgment [as a Separator, in order that there may be [c] separation between those who believe on Me and those who reject Me], to make the sightless see and to make those who see become blind.

40 Some Pharisees who were near, hearing this remark, said to Him, Are we also blind?

41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but because you now claim to have sight, your sin remains. [If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but because you insist, We do see clearly, you are unable to escape your guilt.]

Footnotes

  1. John 9:24 Capitalized because of what He is, the spotless Son of God, not what the speaker may have thought He was.
  2. John 9:35 Many ancient manuscripts read “the Son of God.”
  3. John 9:39 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.