9:27a
I already told you, and you did not listen: The man who had been healed said that he had told the religious leaders what happened once before (see 9:15). At that time they did not listen, meaning that they refused to accept and believe what he said. The man was apparently becoming annoyed. In some languages it may be natural to indicate that he was annoyed by the use of a rhetorical question. For example:
“Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen?” (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
“I’ve told you before,” he replied. “Weren’t you listening?” (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
Try to indicate that the man was becoming impatient. However, do not translate his words as being rude, because he was a young man speaking to the religious leaders.
you did not listen: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you did not listen is more literally “you (plur.) did not hear.” The religious leaders actually heard but they refused to accept what the man said. They did not believe that it was true. See 9:19a. Here is another way to translate this clause:
you refused to listen (Contemporary English Version)
In some languages it may be natural to say explicitly what the leaders would not listen to. For example:
you would not listen ⌊to what I said⌋
-or-
you refused to listen ⌊to me⌋
9:27b
Why do you want to hear it again?: This is a rhetorical question. The man used it to express surprise. The man who was healed was surprised that the Jewish leaders wanted to hear about his healing again. There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
Why do you want to hear the story again? (God’s Word)
• Use a statement or exclamation. For example:
And ⌊now⌋ you (plur.) want to hear my story one more time!
-or-
⌊I am amazed that⌋ you want to hear about it again!
Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language to indicate surprise.
9:27c
Do you also want to become His disciples?: This is a rhetorical question. It implies that the answer will be “no.” The man knew that the religious leaders probably did not want to become Jesus’ disciples. He used this rhetorical question to rebuke them and maybe even make fun of them. There are two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
Do you want to become his followers, too? (New Century Version)
-or-
You are not thinking of becoming his disciples too, are you?
• Use a statement. For example:
Maybe you (plur.) too would like to become his disciples.
-or-
Perhaps you too are thinking of following him.
also: The word also in this context means “in addition to me,” meaning in addition to the man who was healed. The man was implying that he was one of Jesus’ disciples. The Jewish leaders certainly understood that in 9:28b. The word does not imply that the Jewish leaders were already the disciples of someone else and wanted to also be Jesus’ disciples. To avoid this wrong meaning it may be natural to translate this word in one of the following ways:
like me
-or-
as I am
disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples refers to the followers of a religious teacher. See how you translated this word in 9:2a.
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