John 9:13-34

GOD’S WORD Translation

¹³ Some people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ The day when Jesus mixed the spit and dirt and gave the man sight was a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees asked the man again how he received his sight.

The man told the Pharisees, “He put a mixture of spit and dirt on my eyes. I washed it off, and now I can see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this is not from God because he doesn’t follow the traditions for the day of rest—a holy day.” Other Pharisees asked, “How can a man who is a sinner perform miracles like these?” So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions.

¹⁷ They asked the man who had been born blind another question: “What do you say about the man who gave you sight?”

The man answered, “He’s a prophet.”

¹⁸ Until they talked to the man’s parents, the Jews didn’t believe that the man had been blind and had been given sight. ¹⁹ They asked his parents, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now?”

²⁰ His parents replied, “We know that he’s our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself.” ²² (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. ²³ That’s why his parents said, “You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough.”)

²⁴ So once again the Jews called the man who had been blind. They told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner.”

²⁵ The man responded, “I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see.”

²⁶ The Jews asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he give you sight?”

²⁷ The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ The Jews yelled at him, “You’re his disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from.”

³⁰ The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where he’s from. Yet, he gave me sight. ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. ³² Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.”

³⁴ The Jews answered him, “You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us?” Then they threw him out ⌞of the synagogue⌟.