John 9
Lexham English Bible
A Man Born Blind Is Given Sight
9 And as he[a] went away, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” 3 Jesus replied, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it happened[b] so that the works of God could be revealed in him. 4 It is necessary for us to do the deeds of the one who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work! 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he[c] had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes. 7 And he said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “sent”). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 Then the neighbors and those who saw him previously (because he was a beggar) began to say,[d] “Is this man not the one who used to sit and beg?” 9 Others were saying, “It is this man”; others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” That one was saying, “I am he!” 10 So they began to say[e] to him, “How[f] were your eyes opened?” 11 He replied, “The man who is called Jesus made clay and smeared it[g] on my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash!’ So I went, and I washed, and[h] I received sight.” 12 And they said to him, “Where is that man?” He said, “I do not know.”
The Reaction of the Pharisees to the Healing
13 They brought him—the one formerly blind—to the Pharisees. 14 (Now the day on which Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes was the Sabbath.) 15 So the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received sight. And he said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 So some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath!” Others[i] were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”
18 So the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received sight, until they summoned the parents of the one[j] who received sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this man your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 20 So his parents answered and said, “We know that this man is our son, and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. Ask him! He is a mature adult;[k] he will speak for himself!” 22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already decided that if anyone should confess him to be Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 Because of this his parents said, “He is a mature adult;[l] ask him.”)
24 So they summoned the man who had been blind for the second time and said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner!” 25 Then that man replied, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I know—that although I[m] was blind, now I see!” 26 So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He replied to them, “I told you already and you did not listen! Why do you want to hear it[n] again? You do not want to become his disciples also, do you?”[o] 28 They reviled[p] him 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 man is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “For the remarkable thing is this, that you do not know where he is from, and he opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if someone is devout and does his will, he listens to this one. 32 From time immemorial[q] it has not been heard that someone opened the eyes of one born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything!” 34 They answered and said to him, “You were born completely in sin, and are you attempting to teach[r] us?” And they threw him out.
Jesus as the Son of Man
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered and said, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and he is the one who is speaking with you.” [[38 And he said, “I believe, Lord!” and he worshiped him. 39 And Jesus said,]][s] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind!” 40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, “We are not also blind, are we?”[t] 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
Footnotes
- John 9:1 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“went away”) which is understood as temporal
- John 9:3 The words “it happened” are not in the Greek text but are implied
- John 9:6 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had said”) which is understood as temporal
- John 9:8 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- John 9:10 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- John 9:10 Some manuscripts have “Then how”
- John 9:11 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 9:11 Here “and” is supplied because the two previous participles (“went” and “washed”) have been translated as finite verbs
- John 9:16 Some manuscripts have “But others”
- John 9:18 Literally “of him”
- John 9:21 Literally “he has maturity”
- John 9:23 Literally “he has maturity”
- John 9:25 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as concessive
- John 9:27 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- John 9:27 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “do you”
- John 9:28 Some manuscripts have “And they reviled”
- John 9:32 Literally “the age”
- John 9:34 Here the present tense is translated as a conative present (“attempting to teach”)
- John 9:39 A number of important manuscripts lack v. 38 and the first part of v. 39 (“and Jesus said”)
- John 9:40 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are we”
John 9
New International Reader's Version
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus went along, he saw a man who was blind. He had been blind since he was born. 2 Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned? Was this man born blind because he sinned? Or did his parents sin?”
3 “It isn’t because this man sinned,” said Jesus. “It isn’t because his parents sinned. He was born blind so that God’s power could be shown by what’s going to happen. 4 While it is still day, we must do the works of the one who sent me. Night is coming. Then no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After he said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud with the spit. Then he put the mud on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him. “Wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Siloam means Sent. So the man went and washed. And he came home able to see.
8 His neighbors and people who had seen him earlier begging asked questions. “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” they asked. 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No. He only looks like him.”
But the man who had been blind kept saying, “I am the man.”
10 “Then how were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed. Then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Want to Know How the Blind Man Was Healed
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 The day Jesus made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath day. 15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied. “Then I washed. And now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Jesus has not come from God. He does not keep the Sabbath day.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner do such signs?” So the Pharisees did not agree with one another.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man. “What do you have to say about him?” they asked. “It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that the man had been blind and now could see. So they sent for his 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 we don’t know how he can now see. And we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is an adult. He can speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The leaders had already made this decision about Jesus. Anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why the man’s parents said, “He is an adult. Ask him.”
24 Again the Pharisees called the man who had been blind to come to them. “Give glory to God by telling the truth!” they said. “We know that the man who healed you is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “I don’t know if he is a sinner or not. I do know one thing. I was blind, but now I can see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have already told you. But you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they began to attack him with their words. “You are this fellow’s disciple!” they said. “We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses. But we don’t even know where this fellow comes from.”
30 The man answered, “That is really surprising! You don’t know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does what he wants them to do. 32 Nobody has ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man had not come from God, he could do nothing.”
34 Then the Pharisees replied, “When you were born, you were already deep in sin. How dare you talk like that to us!” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
People Who Can’t See the Truth
35 Jesus heard that the Pharisees had thrown the man out of the synagogue. When Jesus found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me, so I can believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge it. I have come so that people who are blind will see. I have come so that people who can see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this. They asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, you remain guilty.
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