9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the man 4 and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 5
1 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”
2 tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.
3 tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”
4 tn Grk “found him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tc Although most witnesses (A L Θ Ψ 070 0250 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) have θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) instead of ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou, “of man”) here, the better witnesses (Ì66,75 א B D W sys) have ἀνθρώπου. Not only is the external evidence decidedly on the side of ἀνθρώπου, but it is difficult to see such early and diverse witnesses changing θεοῦ to ἀνθρώπου. The wording “Son of Man” is thus virtually certain.