Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
Parallel translations
- KJV Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
- BSB “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
- ESV Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
- NKJV Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
- NASB Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
- NLT “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
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 says that admitted blindness would carry no guilt, but their claim to see leaves their sin unforgiven. Persisting in self-righteousness while rejecting the light keeps them under condemnation.
Overview
Those who acknowledge their spiritual blindness can receive sight and mercy, but the Pharisees' insistence that they already see hardens them against grace. Their willful rejection of Christ, not mere ignorance, makes their guilt remain. The passage warns that pretended righteousness is a greater barrier to salvation than honest helplessness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 5:21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
- John 15:22–24If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Heb 10:26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,
- Prov 26:12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Jer 2:35“Yet you said, ‘I am innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.’ “Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
- Luke 12:47That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes,
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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.
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Original language
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