John 9:16-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. John 9:16 tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).
2. John 9:16 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
3. John 9:16 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
4. John 9:16 tn Grk “do.”
5. John 9:16 tn Or “So there was discord.”
6. John 9:17 tn Grk “the blind man.”
7. John 9:17 tn Grk “since he opened your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
8. John 9:17 tn Grk “And he said, ‘He is a prophet.’”sn At this point the man, pressed by the Pharisees, admitted there was something special about Jesus. But here, since prophet is anarthrous (is not accompanied by the Greek article) and since in his initial reply in 9:11-12 the man showed no particular insight into the true identity of Jesus, this probably does not refer to the prophet of Deut 18:15, but merely to an unusual person who is capable of working miracles. The Pharisees had put this man on the spot, and he felt compelled to say something about Jesus, but he still didn’t have a clear conception of who Jesus was, so he labeled him a “prophet.”
9. John 9:18 tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers mainly to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. References in this context to Pharisees and to the synagogue (v. 22) suggest an emphasis on the religious nature of the debate which is brought out by the translation “the Jewish religious leaders.”
10. John 9:18 tn The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him…”
11. John 9:18 tn Grk “they called.”
12. John 9:18 tn Or “the man who had gained his sight.”