John 9:8-9

9:8 Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previously ¹  as a beggar began saying, ²  “Is this not the man ³  who used to sit and beg?” 9:9 Some people said, ⁴  “This is the man!” ⁵  while others said, “No, but he looks like him.” ⁶  The man himself ⁷  kept insisting, “I am the one!” ⁸ 

Acts 3:10

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ⁹  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ¹⁰  at what had happened to him.

¹ tn Or “formerly.”

² tn An ingressive force (“began saying”) is present here because the change in status of the blind person provokes this new response from those who knew him.

³ tn Grk “the one.”

⁴ tn Grk “Others were saying.”

⁵ tn Grk “This is the one.”

⁶ tn Grk “No, but he is like him.”

⁷ tn Grk “That one”; the referent (the man himself) is specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “I am he.”

⁹ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

¹⁰ sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).