As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
Parallel translations
- KJV And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
- BSB Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth,
- ESV As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
- NKJV Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
- NASB As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.
- NLT As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus sees a man blind from birth, setting the stage for a sign of his power and identity. The man's lifelong blindness underscores the greatness of the coming miracle.
Overview
This verse opens a unified narrative in which Jesus heals a man blind since birth, demonstrating he is the light of the world. The man's congenital condition makes the healing unmistakably miraculous. The account becomes an extended lesson on physical and spiritual sight, contrasting the man's growing faith with the Pharisees' deepening blindness.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 9:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.