Section 9:13–34

The Pharisees investigated the blind man’s healing

This section tells that Jesus healed the blind man on the Jewish rest day, the Sabbath. The Pharisees thought that healing people was work and so they did not allow it on the Sabbath.

They questioned the man about how he received his sight. They refused to believe that he was born blind and called his parents to come to identify him. Then they told the man that Jesus must be a sinner because he had worked on the rest day. But the man said that Jesus must be a prophet of God. The Pharisees were so angry at this that they forced him to leave.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

The Pharisees questioned the man born blind
-or-
The Pharisees believed that Jesus was a sinner because he healed on a Sabbath
-or-
The investigation of the healing

Paragraph 9:13–17

The people decided to take the man whom Jesus healed to their religious leaders, the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed that healing people was work, so it was wrong to heal people on the Sabbath, the day of rest. They were not sure what to think about Jesus. Some thought that his miracles showed that he was from God. Others thought that because he disobeyed their Sabbath law, he was an evil person.

9:13

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind: This clause begins a new phase in the story. The people in the story move to a different place. The neighbors and friends who were talking to the former beggar now led him to the Pharisees. Refer to them in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

The people led the man who had formerly been blind to the Pharisees.

brought to the Pharisees: The people told the healed man that he should go with them to talk to the Jewish leaders. The text does not say whether or not he went willingly. Try to translate this phrase using an ambiguous expression that does not indicate whether they forced the man to go. For example:

led to the Pharisees

the Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws very carefully and exactly. Here are some ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to people. For example:

Farisi people/members

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

men belonging to the Farise religious sect/group

See how you translated this word in 1:24 and see the note there.

the man who had been blind: This expression refers to the man whom Jesus healed. The phrase had been blind means that he was blind before that time, but not anymore. Refer to him in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

the man who had formerly been blind (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the man who was healed of blindness

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