John 9
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind
9 As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi,(A) who sinned, this man(B) or his parents,(C) that he was born blind? ’
3 ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered. ‘This came about so that God’s works(D) might be displayed in him. 4 We[a] must do the works(E) of him who sent me[b] while it is day.(F) Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’(G)
6 After he said these things he spat on the ground, made some mud(H) from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. 7 ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the pool of Siloam’(I) (which means ‘Sent’). So he left, washed, and came back seeing.(J)
8 His neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, ‘Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging? ’ 9 Some said, ‘He’s the one.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but he looks like him.’
He kept saying, ‘I’m the one.’
10 So they asked him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened? ’
11 He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, “Go to Siloam(K) and wash.” So when I went and washed I received my sight.’(L)
12 ‘Where is he? ’ they asked.
‘I don’t know,’ he said.
The Healed Man’s Testimony
13 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.(M) 14 The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.(N) 15 Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.
‘He put mud on my eyes,’ he told them. ‘I washed and I can see.’
16 Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God,(O) because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.’ But others were saying, ‘How can a sinful man(P) perform such signs? ’ And there was a division(Q) among them.
17 Again they asked the blind man, ‘What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes? ’
‘He’s a prophet,’(R) he said.
18 The Jews did not believe this about him – that he was blind and received sight – until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.
19 They asked them, ‘Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see? ’
20 ‘We know this is our son and that he was born blind,’ his parents answered. 21 ‘But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.’ 22 His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah,(S) he would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, ‘He’s of age; ask him.’
24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, ‘Give glory(T) to God.(U) We know that this man is a sinner.’
25 He answered, ‘Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see! ’
26 Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? ’
27 ‘I already told you,’ he said, ‘and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you? ’
28 They ridiculed him: ‘You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s(V) disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man – we don’t know where he’s from.’(W)
30 ‘This is an amazing thing! ’ the man told them. ‘You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,(X) but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will,(Y) he listens to him.(Z) 32 Throughout history[c] no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.(AA) 33 If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.’(AB)
34 ‘You were born entirely in sin,’(AC) they replied, ‘and are you trying to teach us? ’ Then they threw him out.(AD)
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man? ’[d](AE)
36 ‘Who is he, Sir,(AF) that I may believe in him? ’ he asked.
37 Jesus answered, ‘You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’
38 ‘I believe, Lord! ’ he said, and he worshipped him.
39 Jesus said, ‘I came into this world(AG) for judgement,(AH) in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.’(AI)
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, ‘We aren’t blind too, are we? ’
41 ‘If you were blind,’ Jesus told them, ‘you wouldn’t have sin.(AJ) But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.
John 9
J.B. Phillips New Testament
Jesus and blindness, physical and spiritual
9 Later, as Jesus walked along he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
2 “Master, whose sin caused this man’s blindness,” asked the disciples, “his own or his parents’?”
3-5 “He was not born blind because of his own sin or that of his parents,” returned Jesus, “but to show the power of God at work in him. We must carry on the work of him who sent me while the daylight lasts. Night is coming, when no one can work. I am the world’s light as long as I am in it.”
6-7 Having said this, he spat on the ground and made a sort of clay with the saliva. This he applied to the man’s eyes and said, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” (Siloam means “one who has been sent”.) So the man went off and washed and came home with his sight restored.
8 His neighbours and the people who had often seen him before as a beggar remarked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 “Yes, that’s the one,” said some. Others said, “No, but he’s very like him.” But he himself said, “I’m the man all right!”
10 “Then how was your blindness cured?” they asked.
11 “The man called Jesus made some clay and smeared it on my eyes,” he replied, “and then he said, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So off I went and washed—and that’s how I got my sight!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he returned.
13-15 So they brought the man who had once been blind before the Pharisees. (It should be noted that Jesus made the clay and restored his sight on a Sabbath day.) The Pharisees asked the question all over again as to how he had become able to see. “He put clay on my eyes; I washed it off; now I can see—that’s all,” he replied.
16-17 Some of the Pharisees commented, “This man cannot be from God since he does not observe the Sabbath.” “But how can a sinner give such wonderful signs as these?” others demurred. And they were in two minds about him. Finally, they asked the blind man again, “And what do you say about him? You’re the one whose sight was restored.” “I believe he is a prophet,” he replied.
18-19 The Jews did not really believe that the man had been blind and then had become able to see, until they had summoned his parents and asked them, “Is this your son who you say was born blind? How does it happen that he can now see?”
20-21 “We know that this is our son, and we know that he was born blind,” returned his parents, “but how he can see now, or who made him able to see, we have no idea. Why don’t you ask him? He is a grown-up man; he can speak for himself.”
22-23 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews who had already agreed that anybody who admitted that Christ had done this thing should be excommunicated. It was this fear which made his parents say, “Ask him, he is a grown-up man.”
24 So, once again they summoned the man who had been born blind and said to him, “You should ‘give God the glory’ for what has happened to you. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 “Whether he is a sinner or not, I couldn’t tell, but one thing I am sure of,” the man replied, “I used to be blind, now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do to you—how did he make you see?” they continued.
27 “I’ve told you before,” he replied. “Weren’t you listening? Why do you want to hear it all over again? Are you wanting to be his disciples too?”
28-29 At this, they turned on him furiously. “You’re the one who is his disciple! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don’t even know where he came from.”
30-33 “Now here’s the extraordinary thing,” he retorted, “you don’t know where he came from and yet he gave me the gift of sight. Everybody knows that God does not listen to sinners. It is the man who has a proper respect for God and does what God wants him to do—he’s the one God listens to. Why, since the world began, nobody’s ever heard of a man who was born blind being given his sight. If this man did not come from God, he couldn’t do such a thing!”
34 “You misbegotten wretch!” they flung back at him. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had expelled him and when he had found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “And who is he, sir?” the man replied. “Tell me, so that I can believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” replied Jesus. “It is the one who is talking to you now.”
38 “Lord, I do believe,” he said, and worshipped him.
39 Then Jesus said, “My coming into this world is itself a judgment—those who cannot see have their eyes opened and those who think they can see become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees near him overheard this and said, “So we’re blind, too, are we?”
41 “If you were blind,” returned Jesus, “nobody could blame you, but, as you insist ‘We can see’, your guilt remains.”
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The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.