The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.(A) 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.(B) “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”(C)

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?”(D) So they were divided.(E)

17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”(F)

18 They(G) still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s 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 how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,(H) who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out(I) of the synagogue.(J) 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”(K)

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”(L) they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”(M)

25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have told you already(N) and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!(O) 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”(P)

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.(Q) 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God,(R) he could do nothing.”

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;(S) how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.(T)

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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[a] 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[b] blind man again, “What do you say about him, since it was your eyes he healed?”[c]

He said, “He is a prophet.”

18 The Jewish leaders[d] did not believe that the man[e] had been blind and had gained sight until they summoned his parents[f] 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,[g] since the Jewish leaders[h] had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus[i] was the Messiah[j] would be thrown out of the synagogue. 23 That’s why his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”

24 The Jewish leaders[k] 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[l] 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[m] 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[n] 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[o] and you are trying to instruct us?” And they threw him out.

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Footnotes

  1. John 9:14 Lit. opened
  2. John 9:17 The Gk. lacks formerly
  3. John 9:17 Lit. opened
  4. John 9:18 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. The Jews
  5. John 9:18 Lit. believe about him that he
  6. John 9:18 Lit. the parents of the man who had been given sight
  7. John 9:22 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
  8. John 9:22 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
  9. John 9:22 Lit. he
  10. John 9:22 Or Christ
  11. John 9:24 Lit. They
  12. John 9:26 Lit. open
  13. John 9:30 Lit. opened
  14. John 9:32 Lit. opened
  15. John 9:34 Lit. born entirely in sins