complete verse (John 9:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 9:13:

  • Uma: “Yesus mixed his spit with dirt and healed that blind man on the Sabat Day, the worship day of the Yahudi people. So, that blind man who could see was carried to the Parisi people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the people brought the person who had been blind to the Pariseo.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they took that cured blind person to the Pharisees.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was so, they took that man to the Pharisees.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They caused that blind person whom Jesus had made well to go with them to the Pariseo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Then the man who had been blind was taken to the Pharisees.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Pharisee

The Greek that is a transliteration of the Hebrew Pərūšīm and is typically transliterated into English as “Pharisee” is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as Fǎlìsài (法利賽 / 法利赛) (Protestant) or Fǎlìsāi (法利塞) (Catholic). In Chinese, transliterations can typically be done with a great number of different and identical-sounding characters. Often the meaning of the characters are not relevant, unless they are chosen carefully as in these cases. The Protestant Fǎlìsài can mean something like “Competition for the profit of the law” and the Catholic Fǎlìsāi “Stuffed by/with the profit of the law.” (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 51)

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “prayer shawl”. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharisee” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts “pointing out the law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Pharisee” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts the box of the phylacteries attached to the forehead:


“Pharisees” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as Observant. He explains (p. 302): “Pharisee has become a public, universal pejorative term for a hypocrite. Pharisees were observant of the interpretation of the Covenant Code called the ‘tradition of the elders.’ They conformed their behaviors to the interpretation. Among the various groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, they were perhaps closest to Jesus in their overall concern to make a radical commitment to the will of God (as they understood it).”

See also Nicodemus.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharisees .

Translation commentary on John 9:13

In Greek the verb took is in the present tense, often used in narratives for the sake of vividness. New English Bible translates as a passive (“was brought”), but since the Greek specifically identifies the subject as they (a reference back to verse 8 and 12), it is better to keep the active verb, with they as the subject.

The persons who questioned the man who was born blind are called Pharisees in verse 13,15 and 16; in verse 18 and 22 they are called “the Jews” (Good News Translation Jewish authorities). In verse 40 the Pharisees are again mentioned (Good News Translation some Pharisees); and the chapter concludes on the note of Jesus’ judgement against them (verse 41).

In some languages the manner in which the people took the man before the Pharisees must be made specific. It is important to avoid a term for took which would suggest “arrested him” or “dragged him before.” The implication is probably “they insisted that the man accompany them to the Pharisees.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 9:13

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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