In the introductory statement, A second time they called back the man, there is a slight difficulty in the transitional development of the account. In the preceding section there was no indication that the man born blind had been excluded from the session in which the Pharisees interrogated his parents. One can, however, assume from the way in which they spoke (that is, when they insisted that the Pharisees could interrogate their son) that he was not present. It may be possible in some languages to say “again they called the man back in.” However, this rendering may suggest that he had been called back before, thus implying three sessions of interrogation. Hence, it may be sufficient to say “they called back the man who had been born blind.”

The man who had been born blind is literally “the man who was blind,” but the reference is obviously to his previous blindness, and Good News Translation makes this explicit by translating who had been born blind. Otherwise it sounds as if the man was still blind at the time of these events.

Promise before God that you will tell the truth is literally “give glory/praise to God.” This represents a formula used in taking an oath, especially one involving confession of guilt (see Josh 7.19). The meaning is “Speak the truth before God” (New English Bible), and not “You should give God the glory for what happened to you” (Phillips). Jerusalem Bible translates “Give glory to God,” but adds a footnote indicating that the man was put under oath. In some languages the closest equivalent is “promise under oath that you will tell the truth,” while in others the equivalent may be “promise under a curse,” that is, the man was forced to affirm that he was telling the truth, and if what he said was not the truth, he was exposing himself to a curse from God. In some languages one may say “Call upon God to witness that you are telling the truth” or “Make God a witness of what you are going to say, so we may be sure it is the truth” or “… that what you are saying is the truth.”

This man who cured you translates “this man” of the Greek text. Good News Translation includes this explanation, for stylistic reasons.

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 .