Discovery BoxJohn 9:15-16 
Context9:15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. 1 He replied, 2 “He put mud 3 on my eyes and I washed, and now 4 I am able to see.”
9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, 5 “This man is not from God, because he does not observe 6 the Sabbath.” 7 But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform 8 such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division 9 among them.
1 tn Or “how he had become able to see.”
sn So the Pharisees asked him. Note the subtlety here: On the surface, the man is being judged. But through him, Jesus is being judged. Yet in reality (as the discerning reader will realize) it is ironically the Pharisees themselves who are being judged by their response to Jesus who is the light of the world (cf. 3:17-21).
2 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
3 tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).
4 tn The word “now” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate the contrast between the man’s former state (blind) and his present state (able to see).
5 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”).
6 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
7 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
8 tn Grk “do.”
9 tn Or “So there was discord.”
