Good News According to John

[ a translation from the Greek ]

Chapter 9


And passing on, he saw a man blind from birth. And his followers asked him saying, "Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?"

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God in him should be revealed. It is necessary for us to work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night comes when no one is able to work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the people."

Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay out of the spittle. And he applied the clay to his eyes.

And he said to him, "Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means 'sent'."

So he went and washed and returned seeing.

Then his neighbors and those who saw him before, that he was a beggar said, "Isn't this he who was sitting and begging?"

Some said that it was he.

Others said "No, he is like him."

He kept saying that "I am he."

So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"

He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and he anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then having washed, I received sight."

And they said to him, "Where is he?"

And he said, "I do not know."

They brought him who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now, it was the Sabbath day when the clay was made and Jesus opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he could see.

Then some of the Pharisees said, "This man isn't from God, for he doesn't keep the Sabbath."

But others said, "How is a sinful man able to do such signs?"

And there was a division among them.

Then they said to the blind man again, "What do you say about him, for he opened your eyes?"

And he said that he is a prophet. Then the Jews didn't believe concerning him, that he was blind and now could see, until they called the parents of him who could see.

And they asked them saying, "Is this your son, of whom you say he was born blind? How then does he presently see?"

Then his parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But we don't know how he presently sees. And we don't know who opened his eyes. He is of age, ask him. He will speak about himself."

His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. Already, the Jews had agreed together, that if anyone should confess him Messiah, they would be put out of the synagogue.

Because of this his parents said, "He is of age, ask him."

So, they called out the man who had been blind a second time and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."

Then he answered, "I don't know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that being blind, now I see."

Then they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

He answered them, "I told you already and you didn't listen. Why do you again want to hear? Do you also want to become his followers?"

And they insultingly said to him, "You are a follower of that one. But we are the followers of Moses. We know that Moses has spoken to God. However, we don't know where this man is from."

The man answered and said to them, "For this is an amazing thing, that you don't know where he is from and yet, he opened my eyes. We know that God doesn't hear sinners, but if anyone fears God and does his will, he hears them.

"From the beginning, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one having been born blind. If this man weren't from God, he could do nothing."

They answered and said to him, "You were born entirely in sins and, you teach us?"

And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out.

And having found him he said, "Do you believe in the son of man?"

And he answered him and said, "Who is he Lord, that I might believe in him?"

Jesus said to him, "You have both seen him and the one who speaks with you is he."

Now he said, "Lord, I believe."

And he worshiped him.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, for those not seeing may see and, those seeing may become blind."

The Pharisees who were with him heard these things and they said, "Aren't we also blind?"

Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you wouldn't have sin. But, since you say that we see, your sin remains."



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