9:34a
They replied: In some languages it may be natural to make the reference of one or both the pronouns explicit. For example:
The Jewish/religious leaders replied to him
You were born in utter sin: In this clause, the religious leaders insulted the man. They indicated that they thought that the man had been a great sinner at the time he was born. It is also implied that he was still such a sinner. See the disciples’ question in 9:2 and the note there.
Here are other ways to translate this clause:
You have been a sinner since the day you were born! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You were born full of sin! (New Century Version)
-or-
You were born a total sinner! (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You have been nothing but a sinner from the day you were born!
9:34b
and you are instructing us?: This is a rhetorical question. The Jewish leaders used it to rebuke the man. They rebuked him for telling them what they should believe. There are two ways to translate this rebuke:
• Use a rhetorical question. For example:
Do you think you can teach us anything? (Contemporary English Version)
• Use a statement or exclamation. For example:
You (sing.) should not try to teach us (excl.) anything!
-or-
how dare you lecture us! (New International Version)
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language. The contrast between the blind man (you) and the Jewish leaders (us) should be clear. The leaders were proud and did not think that a sinful man could teach them anything. And they thought that the man whom Jesus healed was a sinful man.
9:34c
And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And here introduces what the religious leaders did after rebuking the man that Jesus healed. Here are other ways to translate this conjunction:
Then (Revised English Bible)
-or-
So (NET Bible Bible)
they threw him out: It is not clear what this clause indicates. It could indicate that the Jewish leaders threw the man out of the building. Or it could indicate that they banned him from the synagogue. Verse 9:22b talks about banning people from the synagogue if they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but a different verb is used here. Nearly all English translations translate this clause literally and keep the meaning ambiguous. It is recommended that you do the same. For example:
So they put him out. (New American Standard Bible)
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