John 9:13–34

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.^{b 15}Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.^c “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”^d

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?”^e So they were divided.^f

¹⁷Then 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.”^g

¹⁸They^h 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. ²¹But 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.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,ⁱ who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out^j of the synagogue.^{k 23}That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”^l

²⁴A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”^m they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”ⁿ

²⁵He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷He answered, “I have told you already^o and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!^{p 29}We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”^q

³⁰The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.^{r 32}Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God,^s he could do nothing.”

³⁴To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;^t how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.^u