John 9:24-34, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 9:24-34
The Healed Man Out-Argues His Interrogators
Recalled and pressured, the man holds to the one thing he knows
They call the man again and say, 'Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.' The idiom demands a confession they have already written. He answers that whether Jesus is a sinner he does not know. One thing he knows: that whereas he was blind, now he sees. They ask again how he opened his eyes. He asks whether they also would be his disciples. They revile him: 'Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.'
The man marvels that they do not know whence he is, and yet he has opened his eyes. He says God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, him he hears. Since the world began it was not heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answer that he was altogether born in sins, and does he teach them? And they cast him out. His proverb about God not hearing sinners is his argument in the moment, not a complete doctrine of prayer. The expulsion is a specific act, not proof that Jewish hostility is an essence.
Irony is courage, not a license to humiliate every questioner
He reasons from the sign they cannot undo. They answer with the old sin-blame the opening of the chapter already rejected, and they throw him out.
How this should shape us
Hold to verified truth under pressure. Support people excluded for honest testimony. Do not turn his proverb into a rule that God never hears a sinner's prayer, and do not use the expulsion to teach contempt for Jews.
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Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 9:24-34, 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, 9:24-34
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 9:24-34
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 9:24-34 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 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
Sources for This Section
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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 9:24-34, 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, 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
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 9:24-34 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 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
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 9:24-34
Open Anderson's full study ↗