The Jewish authorities is literally “the Jews”; see Appendix II.

Were not willing to believe is literally “did not believe” (Revised Standard Version), but several translations see this meaning in John’s words (Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “would not believe”; New American Bible “refused to believe”).

A literal translation of were not willing to believe that he had been blind and could now see may seem anomalous in some languages, since it was perfectly clear to the Jewish authorities that the man could now see. It may therefore be necessary to translate “were not willing to believe that this man who could at that time see had previously been blind.” In English the adverb now can indicate contemporaneous time as well as present time, but in this type of context it may be necessary to translate now as “at that particular time.”

They called his parents must not be translated as to imply they shouted to them. Since the process of “calling” in this type of context is rather complex, it may be necessary to translate with two different verbs, for example, “ordered the man’s parents to come before them” or “commanded that the man’s parents be brought before them.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .