Discovery BoxJohn 9:16 
Context9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, 1 “This man is not from God, because he does not observe 2 the Sabbath.” 3 But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform 4 such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division 5 among them.
John 9:26-29
Context9:26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” 6 9:27 He answered, 7 “I told you already and you didn’t listen. 8 Why do you want to hear it 9 again? You people 10 don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”
9:28 They 11 heaped insults 12 on him, saying, 13 “You are his disciple! 14 We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man 15 comes from!”
1 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 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
3 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
4 tn Grk “do.”
5 tn Or “So there was discord.”
6 tn Grk “open your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
7 tn Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Grk “you did not hear.”
9 tn “It” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when they were clearly implied in the context.
10 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
11 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
12 tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”
13 tn Grk “and said.”
14 tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”
15 tn Grk “where this one.”
