John 9

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 9

The Man Born Blind. ¹^[a]As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth.^(A) ²^[b]His disciples asked him,^(B) “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.^(C) ⁴We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.^(D) ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”^(E) ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes,^(F) ⁷and said to him, “Go wash^[c] in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see.^(G)

⁸His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” ¹⁰So they said to him, “[So] how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” ¹²And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”

¹³They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴Now Jesus had made clay^[d] and opened his eyes on a sabbath.^(H) ¹⁵So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” ¹⁶So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” [But] others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them.^(I) ¹⁷So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”^(J)

¹⁸Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. ¹⁹They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” ²⁰His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” ²²^[e]^(K)His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.”^(L)

²⁴So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise!^[f] We know that this man is a sinner.”^(M) ²⁵He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” ²⁶So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” ²⁸They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.”^(N) ³⁰The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.^(O) ³²^[g]It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.”^(P) ³⁴They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.

³⁵When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.”^(Q) ³⁸He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹^[h]Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”^(R)

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”^(S) ⁴¹Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.^(T)

Footnotes

9:1–10:21 Sabbath healing of the man born blind. This sixth sign is introduced to illustrate the saying, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12; 9:5). The narrative of conflict about Jesus contrasts Jesus (light) with the Jews (blindness, Jn 9:39–41). The theme of water is reintroduced in the reference to the pool of Siloam. Ironically, Jesus is being judged by the Jews, yet the Jews are judged by the Light of the world; cf. Jn 3:19–21.
9:2 See note on Jn 5:14, and Ex 20:5, that parents’ sins were visited upon their children. Jesus denies such a cause and emphasizes the purpose: the infirmity was providential.
9:7 Go wash: perhaps a test of faith; cf. 2 Kgs 5:10–14. The water tunnel Siloam (= Sent) is used as a symbol of Jesus, sent by his Father.
9:14 In using spittle, kneading clay, and healing, Jesus had broken the sabbath rules laid down by Jewish tradition.
9:22 This comment of the evangelist (in terms used again in Jn 12:42; 16:2) envisages a situation after Jesus’ ministry. Rejection/excommunication from the synagogue of Jews who confessed Jesus as Messiah seems to have begun ca. A.D. 85, when the curse against the mînîm or heretics was introduced into the “Eighteen Benedictions.”
9:24 Give God the praise!: an Old Testament formula of adjuration to tell the truth; cf. Jos 7:19; 1 Sm 6:5 LXX. Cf. Jn 5:41.
9:32 A person born blind: the only Old Testament cure from blindness is found in Tobit (cf. Tb 7:7; 11:7–13; 14:1–2), but Tobit was not born blind.
9:39–41 These verses spell out the symbolic meaning of the cure; the Pharisees are not the innocent blind, willing to accept the testimony of others.

Ivan 9

Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod

Slijepac od rođenja

9 Šećući uokolo, Isus je primijetio nekog slijepca. Čovjek je bio slijep od rođenja. ²»Učitelju«, upitali su ga njegovi učenici, »tko je sagriješio da se rodio slijep? On ili njegovi roditelji?«

³»Ni on ni njegovi roditelji«, odgovorio im je Isus. »Rodio se slijep da bi se na njemu pokazala Božja moćna djela. ⁴Dok je dan, moram činiti djela onoga koji me poslao. Kada padne noć, nitko ne može raditi. ⁵Dokle god sam na svijetu, njegovo sam svjetlo.«

⁶Kad je to izgovorio, pljunuo je na zemlju, napravio od sline blato i njime premazao čovjeku oči. ⁷Potom mu je rekao: »Idi do bazena Siloama i umij se!«—Siloam znači »Poslan«. Čovjek je otišao, umio se i vratio gledajući.

⁸Njegovi susjedi i oni koji su ga prije često viđali kako prosi pitali su se: »Zar nije ono čovjek koji je stalno sjedio uz cestu i prosio?«

⁹Neki su rekli: »Da, to je on!« Drugi pak: »Nije, samo mu je sličan.«

A on sâm je rekao: »Da, ja sam taj!«

¹⁰»Kako se to dogodilo? Kako su ti se otvorile oči?« pitali su ga.

¹¹Odgovorio je: »Čovjek kojeg zovu Isus napravio je blato, premazao mi njime oči i rekao: ‘Idi do Siloama i umij se!’ Otišao sam, pa kad sam se umio, progledao sam.«

¹²Upitali su ga: »Gdje je on?«

¹³Ljudi su tada farizejima doveli čovjeka koji je ranije bio slijep. ¹⁴A bio je šabat, dan odmora, kad je Isus načinio blato i otvorio čovjeku oči. ¹⁵Farizeji su ga još jednom počeli ispitivati kako je progledao.

¹⁶Neki od farizeja počeli su govoriti: »Ovaj čovjek nije došao od Boga jer ne poštuje zakon o šabatu.«

»Kako jedan grešnik«, govorili su pak drugi, »može činiti ovakve čudesne znakove?« Tako je među njima došlo do razdora.

¹⁷Ponovo su upitali slijepca: »Što ti misliš o Isusu, sada kada ti je otvorio oči?«

»On je prorok!« odgovorio im je.

¹⁸Židovi mu nisu vjerovali da je bio slijep i da je progledao pa su pozvali njegove roditelje ¹⁹i ispitivali ih: »Je li ovo vaš sin, za kojega kažete da je bio slijep od rođenja? Pa kako onda sada vidi?«

²⁰Njegovi su roditelji odgovorili: »Znamo da je on naš sin i da se rodio slijep, ²¹ali ne znamo kako je progledao niti tko mu je otvorio oči. Pitajte njega! Dovoljno je odrastao da govori sâm za sebe.« ²²Tako su govorili jer su se bojali Židova. Židovi su bili odlučili da svakoga tko prizna da je Isus Mesija izopće iz sinagoge. ²³Zato su njegovi roditelji rekli: »Pitajte njega! Dovoljno je odrastao.«

²⁴Tada su drugi put pozvali čovjeka, koji je bio slijep, i naredili mu: »Iskaži Bogu čast! Priznaj istinu! Znamo da je čovjek, koji ti je otvorio oči, grešnik.«

²⁵»Je li grešnik ili nije, ne znam«, odvratio im je. »Znam samo jedno: bio sam slijep, a sada vidim!«

²⁶»Što ti je učinio?« pitali su ga. »Kako ti je otvorio oči?«

²⁷Odgovorio im je: »Već sam vam ispričao, ali niste htjeli slušati. Zašto to želite ponovo čuti? Zar i vi želite postati njegovi učenici?«

²⁸Tada su ga počeli ismijavati i govoriti mu: »Ti si njegov učenik, a mi smo Mojsijevi učenici. ²⁹Znamo da se Bog obratio Mojsiju, ali ne znamo odakle dolazi ovaj čovjek.«

³⁰»Zaista je čudno«, odvratio im je, »da vi ne znate odakle on dolazi, a meni je otvorio oči! ³¹Poznato je da Bog ne uslišava grešnike, nego onoga tko mu je odan i tko mu se pokorava. ³²Otkad je svijeta, još se nije čulo da je netko otvorio oči slijepcu od rođenja. ³³Da ovaj čovjek nije od Boga, ništa ne bi mogao učiniti.«

³⁴Odvratili su mu: »Pun si grijeha od rođenja i ti bi nas nečemu učio!« I izbacili su ga iz sinagoge.

Duhovna sljepoća

³⁵Isus je čuo da su čovjeka izbacili iz sinagoge. Našao ga je i upitao: »Vjeruješ li u Sina Čovječjeg?«

³⁶»A tko je taj, gospodine?« odvratio je čovjek. »Kaži mi, pa ću povjerovati u njega.«

³⁷»Gledaš u njega«, rekao mu je Isus. »To je onaj koji sada razgovara s tobom.«

³⁸»Vjerujem, Gospodine!« rekao je i poklonio se pred Isusom.

³⁹A Isus je rekao: »Ja sam došao na ovaj svijet da bi se svijetu moglo suditi. Došao sam da progledaju oni koji ne vide, a oslijepe oni koji vide.«

⁴⁰Neki farizeji, koji su bili s Isusom, čuli su to i rekli mu: »Zar smo i mi slijepi?«

⁴¹»Kad biste bili slijepi«, odvratio im je Isus, »ne biste imali grijeha, ali sada kažete: ‘Vidimo’. Time vaš grijeh ostaje.«

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP)

John 9 New American Bible (Revised Edition)