John 9:1-7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 9:1-7
Jesus Rejects Blame and Opens a Man's Eyes
Jesus refuses the sin-blame question and sends a man born blind to Siloam
Jesus sees a man blind from birth. His disciples ask, 'Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answers, 'Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.' The passage explicitly does not teach that disability is punishment for the person's or the parents' sin. The line can be heard so that neither sin caused the blindness, and God's works are to be manifested now, without making God author disability for a demonstration.
He must work the works of him that sent him while it is day; the night comes when no one can work. As long as he is in the world, he is the light of the world. He spat on the ground, made clay of the spittle, anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,' which is by interpretation Sent. The man went, washed, and came seeing. Blindness is a real condition. Later sight metaphors must not turn him into a prop or imply that blind people are spiritually deficient.
Healing is not a verdict on everyone who remains blind
Clay, sending, and washing are this man's particular path. The sign does not guarantee cure, and it does not make unhealed people evidence of hidden sin.
How this should shape us
Reject every theology that blames disabled people or their parents. Ask how God's work can become visible through access, agency, and care, and respect blind people beyond stories that only count if they end in cure.
Teach it back
Explain John 9:1-7 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 9:1-7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 9:1-7
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 9:1-7
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 9:1-7 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Enter the Bible John course, Outline, Theological Themes, and Book of Signs materials; applied to 9:1-7
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Blind Man and Festival Controversies study guide; applied to 9:1-7
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 9:1-7
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 9:1-7
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 9:1-7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 9:1-7
Open the John Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 9:1-7
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 9:1-7 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Outline, Theological Themes, and Book of Signs materials; applied to 9:1-7
Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗modern scholarly narrative and theological course
The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Blind Man and Festival Controversies study guide; applied to 9:1-7
Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗modern open confessional commentary
John
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 9:1-7
Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗modern scholarly ethical and historical study
Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as Flawed Interpretations of the Gospel of John
Paul N. Anderson
Bible and Interpretation; expanded from John and Judaism, SBL Resources for Biblical Study 87, 2017
Supports: Historically specific Jewish referents, varied responses, Jewish identity, Roman agency, reception danger, and anti-violence safeguards.
Exact location: Anderson, “Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence,” full PDF, especially terminology and Ioudaioi pp. 1–22, historical models pp. 23–46, Passion and reception pp. 47–65, safeguards and appendices pp. 66–77; applied to 9:1-7
Open Anderson's full study ↗