John 9:1

Now as Jesus was passing by, ¹  he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth.

And when he went on his way, he saw a man blind from birth.

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

Now as Jesus was passing by, ¹  he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

¹ tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.

sn Since there is no break with chap. 8, Jesus is presumably still in Jerusalem, and presumably not still in the temple area. The events of chap. 9 fall somewhere between the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2) and the feast of the Dedication (John 10:22). But in the author’s narrative the connection exists – the incident recorded in chap. 9 (along with the ensuing debates with the Pharisees) serves as a real-life illustration of the claim Jesus made in 8:12, I am the light of the world. This is in fact the probable theological motivation behind the juxtaposition of these two incidents in the narrative. The second serves as an illustration of the first, and as a concrete example of the victory of light over darkness. One other thing which should be pointed out about the miracle recorded in chap. 9 is its messianic significance. In the OT it is God himself who is associated with the giving of sight to the blind (Exod 4:11, Ps 146:8). In a number of passages in Isa (29:18, 35:5, 42:7) it is considered to be a messianic activity.