John 9
Expanded Bible
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus ·was walking along [passed by; went along], he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His ·followers [disciples] asked him, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], whose sin caused this man to be born blind—his own sin or his parents’ sin?” [C The disciples, like the friends of Job, viewed suffering as the result of a person’s own sins.]
3 Jesus answered, “It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God’s ·power [L works] could be ·shown [displayed; revealed; manifest] in him. 4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the One who sent me. Night is coming [C Jesus’ death], when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world [see 8:12].”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and made some mud with ·it [L the saliva] and ·put [spread; anointed] the mud on the man’s eyes [C the significance of the mud made with spit is unclear]. 7 Then he told the man, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (Siloam [C from a Hebrew word] means Sent.) So the man went, washed, and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and some people who had earlier seen this man begging said, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, “He is the one,” but others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
The man himself said, “I am the man.”
10 [L Therefore] They asked him, “How [L then] ·did you get your sight [L were your eyes opened]?”
11 He answered, “The man named Jesus made some mud and ·put [spread; anointed] it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
“I don’t know,” he answered.
Pharisees Question the Healing
13 Then the people took to the Pharisees [C a religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] the man who had been blind. 14 The day Jesus had made mud and healed his eyes was a Sabbath day [C on which no work was allowed]. 15 So now the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you get your sight?”
He answered, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.”
16 So some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man does not keep the Sabbath day [C according to rabbinic tradition neither kneading nor healing were permitted on the Sabbath], so he is not from God.”
But others said, “·A man who is a sinner can’t [L How can a man who is a sinner…?] do ·miracles [L signs] like these.” So ·they could not agree with each other [L there was a division among them].
17 [L Therefore; So; Then] They asked the man again, “What do you say about him, since it was your eyes he opened?”
The man answered, “He is a prophet.”
18 ·These leaders [L The Jews; C the Pharisees] did not believe that he had been blind and could now see again. So they sent for the ·man’s parents [L parents of the man who could now see] 19 and asked them, “Is this your son who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
20 [L Therefore; So] His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know how he can now see. We don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself [C of legal age to give testimony].” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the ·elders [Jewish leaders; L Jews], who had already decided that anyone who ·said [confessed; acknowledged] Jesus was the ·Christ [Messiah] would be ·avoided [L put out of the synagogue; C an act of expulsion or excommunication]. 23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind. They said, “·You should give God the glory by telling the truth [L Give God the glory; C see Josh. 7:19 where this phrase is a command to tell the truth]. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 [L So; Then] He answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”
26 [L So; Then] They asked, “What did he do to you? How did he ·make you see again [L open your eyes]?”
27 He answered them, “I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his ·followers [disciples] too?”
28 Then they ·insulted [ridiculed; reviled] him and said, “You are his ·follower [disciple], but we are ·followers [disciples] of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses [Ex. 33:11; Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10], but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 The man answered, “This is a very ·strange [astonishing; marvelous] thing. You don’t know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he listens to anyone who ·worships [is devout; is godfearing] and ·obeys him [L does his will]. 32 Nobody has ·ever [or since the beginning of the world; L from the age/eternity] heard of anyone giving sight to a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered, “You were born ·full of sin [or in utter sinfulness]! Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out [C of the synagogue; an act of excommunication].
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard that they had ·thrown [cast; driven] him out [C of the synagogue], Jesus found him and said, “Do you ·believe [trust] in the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14]?”
36 He asked, “Who is ·the Son of Man [L he], sir, so that I can ·believe [trust] in him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him. ·The Son of Man [L He] is the one talking with you.”
38 He said, “·Lord [C the same word is rendered “sir” in v. 36, but here may have a more solemn sense], I ·believe [trust]!” Then the man ·worshiped [prostrated himself before] Jesus.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world ·so that the world could be judged [L for judgment]. I came so that the blind would see and so that those who see will become blind.” [C Those who acknowledge they are spiritually blind will see the truth; and those who think they see spiritually (the Jewish religious leaders) are actually blind; Is. 6:10; 42:19.]
40 Some of the Pharisees who were nearby heard Jesus say this and asked, “Are you saying we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you keep saying you see, your ·guilt [or sin] remains.”
John 9
International Standard Version
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
9 As he was walking along, he observed a man who had been blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi,[a] who sinned, this man or his parents, that caused him to be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that[b] God’s work might be revealed in him. 4 I[c] must do the work of the one who sent me[d] while it is day. Night is approaching, when no one can work. 5 As long as I’m in the world, I’m the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he spread the mud on the man’s eyes 7 and told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “Sent One”). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing.
8 Then the neighbors and those who had previously seen him as a beggar said, “This is the man who used to sit and beg, isn’t it?”
9 Some were saying, “It’s him,” while others were saying, “No, but it’s someone like him.”
But he himself kept saying, “It’s me!”
10 So they asked him, “How, then, did you gain your eyesight?”
11 He said, “The man named Jesus made some mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So off I went and washed, and I received my sight.”
12 They asked him, “Where is that man?”
He said, “I don’t know!”
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 So they brought to the Pharisees the man who had once been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and healed[e] his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had gained his sight. He told them, “He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees began to remark, “This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 So they asked the formerly[f] blind man again, “What do you say about him, since it was your eyes he healed?”[g]
He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders[h] did not believe that the man[i] had been blind and had gained sight until they summoned his parents[j] 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How does he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know how it is that he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age and can speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,[k] since the Jewish leaders[l] had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus[m] was the Messiah[n] would be thrown out of the synagogue. 23 That’s why his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”
24 The Jewish leaders[o] summoned the man who had been blind a second time and told him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 But he responded, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner or not. The one thing I do know is that I used to be blind and now I can see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he heal[p] your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples, too, do you?”
28 At this, they turned on him in fury and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but we do not know where this fellow comes from.”
30 The man answered them, “This is an amazing thing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he healed[q] my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he does listen to anyone who worships him and does his will. 32 Ever since creation it has never been heard that anyone healed[r] the eyes of a man who was born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.”
34 They asked him, “You were born a sinner[s] and you are trying to instruct us?” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. So when he found him, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”[t]
36 He answered, “And who is he, sir?[u] Tell me,[v] so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus told him, “You have seen him. He is the person who is talking with you.”
38 He said, “Lord, I do believe,” and worshipped him.
39 Then Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge it, so that those who are blind may see and so that those who see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were near him overheard this and asked him, “We aren’t blind, too, are we?”
41 Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you would not have any sin. But now that you insist, ‘We see,’ your sin still exists.”
Footnotes
- John 9:2 Rabbi is Heb. for Master and/or Teacher
- John 9:3 Lit. But so that
- John 9:4 Other mss. read We
- John 9:4 Other mss. read us
- John 9:14 Lit. opened
- John 9:17 The Gk. lacks formerly
- John 9:17 Lit. opened
- John 9:18 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. The Jews
- John 9:18 Lit. believe about him that he
- John 9:18 Lit. the parents of the man who had been given sight
- John 9:22 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 9:22 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 9:22 Lit. he
- John 9:22 Or Christ
- John 9:24 Lit. They
- John 9:26 Lit. open
- John 9:30 Lit. opened
- John 9:32 Lit. opened
- John 9:34 Lit. born entirely in sins
- John 9:35 Other mss. read Son of God
- John 9:36 Or Lord
- John 9:36 The Gk. lacks Tell me
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