13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?

20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.

34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Read full chapter

13 ¶ They brought to the Pharisees him that was once blind.

14 And it was the Sabbath day, when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him, how he had received sight. And he said unto them, He laid clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 [a]Then said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner, do such miracles? and there was a dissension among them.

17 Then spake they unto the blind again, What sayest thou of him, because he hath opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a Prophet.

18 Then the Jews did not believe him (that he had been blind, and received his sight) until they had called the parents of him that had received sight.

19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, whom ye say was born blind? How doth he now see then?

20 His parents answered them, and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, can we not tell: he is old enough: ask him: he shall answer for himself.

22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had ordained already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be excommunicated out of the Synagogue.

23 Therefore said his parents, He is old enough: ask him.

24 Then again called they the man that had been blind, and said unto him, [b]Give glory unto God: we know that this man is a [c]sinner.

25 Then he answered, and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I cannot tell: one thing I know, that I was blind, and now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye have not heard it: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

28 [d]Then reviled they him, and said, Be thou his disciple: we be Moses’ disciples.

29 We know that God spake with Moses: but this man we know not from whence he is.

30 The man answered, and said unto them, Doubtless, this is a marvelous thing, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him heareth he.

32 Since the world began, was it not heard, that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

33 If this man were not of God, he could have done nothing.

34 They answered, and said unto him, [e]Thou art altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? so they cast him out.

35 [f]Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?

36 He answered, and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Both thou hast seen him, and he it is that talketh with thee.

38 Then he said, Lord, I believe, and worshipped him.

39 [g]And Jesus said, I am come unto [h]judgment into this world, that they [i]which see not, might see: and that they (A)which see, might be made blind.

40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him, heard these things, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should not have sin: but now ye say, We see: therefore your sin remaineth.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 9:16 Religion is not assaulted by any means more than by pretence of Religion: but the more it is pressed down, the more it riseth up.
  2. John 9:24 A solemn order, whereby men were constrained in old time to acknowledge their fault before God, as if they should say, Consider thou art before God, who knoweth the whole matter, and therefore see thou reverence his majesty, and do him this honor, rather to confess the whole matter openly, than to lie before him, Josh. 7:19; 1 Sam. 6:5.
  3. John 9:24 He is called a sinner in the Hebrew tongue, which is a wicked man, and maketh as it were an art of sins.
  4. John 9:28 Proud wickedness must needs at length break forth, which in vain lieth hid under a zeal of godliness.
  5. John 9:34 Thou art naught even from the cradle, and as we use to say, there is nothing in thee but sin.
  6. John 9:35 Most happy is their state, which are cast furthest out of the Church of the wicked (which proudly boast themselves of the name of the Church) that Christ may come never to them.
  7. John 9:39 Christ doth lighten all them by the preaching of the Gospel, which acknowledge their own darkness, but such as seem to themselves to see clearly enough, those he altogether blindeth: of which sort are they oftentimes, which have the highest place in the Church.
  8. John 9:39 With great power and authority, to do what is righteous and just: as if he said, These men take upon them to govern the people of God after their own lusts, as though they saw all things, and no man but they: but I will rule far otherwise than these men do: for whom they account for blind men, them I will lighten, and such as take themselves to be wisest, them will I drown in most gross darkness of ignorance.
  9. John 9:39 In these words (of seeing and not seeing) there is a secret taunting and check to the Pharisees: for they thought all men blind but themselves.

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)

Spiritual Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe(U) in the Son of Man?”(V)

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”(W)

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”(X)

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.(Y)

39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment(Z) I have come into this world,(AA) so that the blind will see(AB) and those who see will become blind.”(AC)

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”(AD)

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.(AE)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 9:39 Some early manuscripts do not have Then the man said … 39 Jesus said.