^9:18Now the Jewish religious leaders⁵⁶ refused to believe⁵⁷ that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned⁵⁸ the parents of the man who had become able to see.⁵⁹^9:19They asked the parents,⁶⁰ “Is this your son, whom you say⁶¹ was born blind? Then how does he now see?” ^9:20So his parents replied,⁶² “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ^9:21But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see.⁶³ Ask him, he is a mature adult.⁶⁴ He will speak for himself.” ^9:22(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders.⁶⁵ For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus⁶⁶ to be the Christ⁶⁷ would be put out⁶⁸ of the synagogue.⁶⁹^9:23For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult,⁷⁰ ask him.”)⁷¹

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Footnotes

56 Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term Ἰουδαῖοι (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,” 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.”
57 The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him …”
58 Grk “they called.”
59 Or “the man who had gained his sight.”
60 Grk “and they asked them, saying”; the referent (the parents) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61 The Greek pronoun and verb are both plural (both parents are addressed).
62 Grk “So his parents answered and said.”
63 Grk “who opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
64 Or “he is of age.”
65 Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. .
66 Grk “confessed him.”
67 Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). See the note on Christ in .
68 Or “would be expelled from.”
69 This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in .
70 Or “he is of age.”
71 This is a parenthetical note by the author explaining the parents’ response.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”)

NIVNew International Version (2011)

They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 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.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

“We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue. This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”

NLTNew Living Translation

The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

So the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received sight, until they summoned the parents of the one who received sight. And they asked them, saying, “Is this man your son, whom you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” So his parents answered and said, “We know that this man is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. Ask him! He is a mature adult; he will speak for himself!” (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already decided that if anyone should confess him to be Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. Because of this his parents said, “He is a mature adult; ask him.”)

KJV 1900King James Version

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. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 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. 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. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

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