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Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
John 9:7 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
  • KJV And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
  • NKJV And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
  • NASB and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he left and washed, and came back seeing.
  • NLT He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

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 tells the man to wash in the pool of Siloam, and he returns seeing. Obedient faith leads to his healing.

Overview

Jesus sends the man to wash in Siloam, a name John notes means "Sent." The detail subtly points to Jesus himself as the one sent from the Father, the true source of the man's healing. The man's simple obedience results in restored sight, illustrating how faith responds to Christ's word and receives his gracious work.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Isa 35:5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
  • John 11:37But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
  • John 9:11He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
  • Ps 146:8the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
  • Acts 26:18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
  • Isa 8:6“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
  • Exod 4:11And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
  • Luke 13:4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?
  • Isa 42:7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
  • Neh 3:15The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.
  • Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
  • John 10:36then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?
  • Isa 29:18–19On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
  • Isa 42:16–18I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
  • Rom 8:3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,
  • Luke 2:32a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”
  • John 9:39Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”
  • Isa 43:8Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.
  • Isa 32:3Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
  • 2 Kgs 5:10–14Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 9:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 9:7 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.