John 9:1

Healing a Man Born Blind

9:1 Now as Jesus was passing by, ¹  he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

John 1:9

1:9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, ²  was coming into the world. ³ 

John 18:14

18:14 (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised ⁴  the Jewish leaders ⁵  that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.) ⁶ 

John 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ⁷  can he?” ⁸ 

John 7:22-23

7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision ⁹  (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child ¹⁰  on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child ¹¹  is circumcised ¹²  on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, ¹³  why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well ¹⁴  on the Sabbath?

John 7:51

7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn ¹⁵  a man unless it first hears from him and learns ¹⁶  what he is doing, does it?” ¹⁷ 

John 8:40

8:40 But now you are trying ¹⁸  to kill me, a man who has told you ¹⁹  the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ²⁰ 

John 5:7

5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, ²¹  I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, ²²  someone else ²³  goes down there ²⁴  before me.”

John 9:24

9:24 Then they summoned ²⁵  the man who used to be blind ²⁶  a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. ²⁷  We know that this man ²⁸  is a sinner.”

¹ tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.

² tn Grk “every man” (but in a generic sense, “every person,” or “every human being”).

³ tn Or “He was the true light, who gives light to everyone who comes into the world.” The participle ἐρχόμενον (ercomenon) may be either (1) neuter nominative, agreeing with τὸ φῶς (to fw"), or (2) masculine accusative, agreeing with ἄνθρωπον (anqrwpon). Option (1) results in a periphrastic imperfect with ἦν (hn), ἦν τὸ φῶς… ἐρχόμενον, referring to the incarnation. Option (2) would have the participle modifying ἄνθρωπον and referring to the true light as enlightening “every man who comes into the world.” Option (2) has some rabbinic parallels: The phrase “all who come into the world” is a fairly common expression for “every man” (cf. Leviticus Rabbah 31.6). But (1) must be preferred here, because: (a) In the next verse the light is in the world; it is logical for v. 9 to speak of its entering the world; (b) in other passages Jesus is described as “coming into the world” (6:14, 9:39, 11:27, 16:28) and in 12:46 Jesus says: ἐγὼ φῶς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐλήλυθα (egw fw" ei" ton kosmon elhluqa); (c) use of a periphrastic participle with the imperfect tense is typical Johannine style: 1:28, 2:6, 3:23, 10:40, 11:1, 13:23, 18:18 and 25. In every one of these except 13:23 the finite verb is first and separated by one or more intervening words from the participle.

³ tn Or “counseled.”

⁴ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, specifically members of the Sanhedrin (see John 11:49-50). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.

⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁴ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

⁵ tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

⁵ tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”

⁶ tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.

⁶ tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.

⁷ tn Grk “receives circumcision.”

⁸ sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca. a.d. 100) states: “If circumcision, which attaches to one only of the 248 members of the human body, suspends the Sabbath, how much more shall the saving of the whole body suspend the Sabbath?” So absolutely binding did rabbinic Judaism regard the command of Lev 12:3 to circumcise on the eighth day, that in the Mishnah m. Shabbat 18.3; 19.1, 2; and m. Nedarim 3.11 all hold that the command to circumcise overrides the command to observe the Sabbath.

⁹ tn Or “made an entire man well.”

⁷ tn Grk “judge.”

⁸ tn Grk “knows.”

⁹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).

⁸ tn Grk “seeking.”

⁹ tn Grk “has spoken to you.”

¹⁰ tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.

⁹ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage the paralytic who was healed by Jesus never acknowledges Jesus as Lord – he rather reports Jesus to the authorities.

¹⁰ tn Grk “while I am going.”

¹¹ tn Grk “another.”

¹² tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

¹⁰ tn Grk “they called.”

¹¹ tn Grk “who was blind.”

¹² tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).

¹³ tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.