9:19a
and asked: The Jewish leaders questioned the parents of the man who had been healed. Identify these people in a way that is natural in your language. This was the second thing that had to happen before the Jewish leaders believed that earlier the man was blind. It is implied that the parents also had to reply before they believed. In some languages it may be natural to imply that calling the parents in 9:18b included asking them questions. Then you can start a new sentence here. For example:
They asked his parents (God’s Word)
Is this your son, the one you say was born blind?: The Jewish leaders asked the parents to identify the man in front of them. They wanted to know if he was who he said he was, the beggar who was born blind. Here are other ways to translate this question:
Is this the son that you said was born blind? (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Is this man really the son of yours who you say was born blind? (New Jerusalem Bible)
It may be natural to translate this as two questions. For example:
Is this your son? Was he born blind? (New Living Translation (2004))
The couple may have had several sons. We do not know. Possibly they did, but it is best to assume that he was the only one that was born blind. In some languages it may therefore be natural to say something like this:
Is he one of your sons? Is he the one/son that was born blind?
9:19b
So how is it that he can now see?: This is a real question. The religious leaders asked what caused the man to be able to see. They seemed to assume that he was their son and had been blind. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is often translated as “therefore.” The idea is that they say that their son was blind, so how can he see now? Here are other ways to translate this question:
If so, how can he now see? (New Living Translation (2004))
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