from the beginning, first that we hear of him malicious and proud and and abode not in bloody, and soon apostatized from God and the right the truth, because there is no truth way; for he is an enemy of truth and goodness; and in him. When he therefore for him to lie, and confirm you in infidelity, speaketh a lie, he is natural and proper to him.

the father of it.

convinceth

me of

speaketh of his own: 45. It is neither the inevidence of my doctrine nor for he is a liar, and the weakness of your understandings that keeps you 45 12 And because from believing me, and embracing my doctrine; the I tell you the truth, only thing that makes you reject me is my speaking ye believe me not. the truth, that heavenly, pure, perfect rule of prac46 Which of you tice, which, it seems, is not for your turn, is vehesin? And if I say mently resisted by your passions and prejudices. the truth, why do ye 46. I am sure you have no fault or imposture to not believe me? lay to my charge, nothing to produce or prove against 47 He that is of me; and the tree will be known by the fruits, and words: ye therefore yet you will not believe truth when I speak it. hear them not, be- 47. If you had true piety in you, then certainly cause ye are not of my doctrine, being from God, would be acceptable to you, and you would embrace it. the Jews, and said. 48. To this the Jews had no other reply, but to fall unto him, Say we into reproachful language against him, calling him not well that thou Samaritan (a word of reproach) and madman. See art a [d] Samaritan, note [b] ch. vii. 20.

God heareth God's

God.

48 Then answered

and hast a devil?

49 Jesus answered,

49. That I do no vicious extravagant thing apI have not a devil; pears by my seeking no honour to myself, not coming but I honour my in my own name, but referring all my embassy to the Father, and ye do honour of God, and you do all that malice

dishonour me.

your

can

50 And I seek not invent to defame me. mine own glory : 50. And this let me tell you, although I do not there is one that seek after my own glory, yet my Father doth tenderly 13 seeketh and judg- observe whether I am honoured or dishonoured, and

eth.

he shall never see

death.

51 Verily, verily, I passes sentence on men severely for it; see Deut. say unto you, If 14 a xviii. 19; otherwise, as it is no glory of mine I look man keep my saying, after, so your reproaches would not touch me. 51. As it is, I cannot be so unkind to you as thus 52 Then said the to leave you in this contempt so dangerous to you, Jews unto him, Now whereas, on the other side, your receiving of the meswe know that thou sage which I bring you were the way to bring you to Phast a devil. Abra- eternal life, and rescue you from eternal torments. ham is dead, and the P art mad, see note [b] ch. vii. 20.

prophets; and thou

sayest, If a man keep

never taste of death.

53. Abraham and the prophets were not freed my saying, he shall from dying, and what manner of power dost thou 53 Art thou great- assume to thyself, to bestow privileges which God er than our father never gave to them whom he so much favoured?

11 stood, ἕστηκεν. 12 But I because, èyà dè ori. 13 seeketh it, (NTŵV. 14 any one shall observe my word, he shall not see death for ever, τὶς τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐμὸν τηρήσῃ, θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

Abraham, which is 54. Jesus replied, I shall say nothing of myself: dead? and the pro- the power which I have, I have from him whom cerphets are dead: whom makest thou tainly you acknowledge to be greater than Abraham, thyself? own him as your God, he hath testified sufficiently

54

self, my honour is

God:

Jesus answered, of me by voice from heaven, &c. If I 15 honour my- 55. This Father of mine, whom you call your God, nothing: it is my you know very imperfectly; you know not what kind Father that honour of worship and obedience it is that he requires, but eth me; of whom ye place it in external legal performances: I come to tell say, that he is your you his will more perfectly; and to this end have my message from him, and so cannot but know it dis55 Yet ye have not known him; but I tinctly; and if in compliance with you, or to avoid know him and if I your reproaches, I should say otherwise than what I should say, I know have hitherto said, or confess that I came not from him not, I shall be a him, or knew him not, I should be like you, a downliar like unto you right liar: this I will not be guilty of, but do again 16 keep his saying. profess, that I am sent with perfect knowledge of his will, and do exactly observe it.

but I know him, and

:

56 Your father A56. And because you talk so much of Abraham, I braham 17 rejoiced shall now say of him, that he, having received the to see my day and : he saw it, and was promise of the Messias, Gen. xi. 35, did thereupon glad. vehemently, and with great pleasure and excellency of mind, desire to look nearer into it, to see my coming into the world; and a revelation of it was made unto him, and in it of the state of the gospel; and he was heartily joyed at it.

57 Then said the

Jews unto him,

57. To this the Jews objected that he was not fifty years old, and therefore how could he say that AbraThou art not yet ham lived since his birth, that Christ could see fifty years old, and hast thou seen A- Abraham, or be seen by him?

braham ?

I

I am.

was,

58. Jesus answered that objection of theirs, You 58 Jesus said unto are much mistaken in reckoning my age; for, first, I them, Verily, verily, have a being from all eternity, and so before Abrasay unto you, Before Abraham 18, ham was born, and, therefore, as young as you take me to be in respect of my age here, I may well have seen and known Abraham. But then, secondly, in respect of my present appearance here on earth, though that be but a little above thirty years' dura59 Then took they tion, yet long before Abraham's time it was decreed up stones to cast at by my Father, and in kindness to Abraham revealed him: but Jesus hid to him while he lived, in which respect it is true that himself, and went he knew me also.

going through the

out of the temple, 59. They therefore, conceiving this speech of his midst of them, and to be blasphemous, after the manner of zealots, were ready to stone him presently: but Jesus

so passed by.

15 glorify, doğacw. 16 observe his word, λόγον αὐτοῦ τηρῶ. 17 was exceeding glad that he might see my day, and he saw and rejoiced, hyaλλiáoɑto iva lồn— 18 was born, γενέσθαι.

CHAP. IX.

AND as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2 And his disciples

2. And some of his followers asked him, saying, asked him, saying, Sir, was it any sin of his own, when his soul was in Master, who did sin, [a] this man, or his another body, or was it some sin of his parents at the parents, that he was time of his conception, which caused this blindness in born blind?

3 Jesus answered,

him?

a Neither hath this a Neither his own nor his parents' sins were the man sinned, nor his parents: but that the cause of this blindness of his, but God's secret wisdom, works of God should who meant by this means to shew forth in me his be made manifest in miraculous power among you.

him.

4 I must work the 4, 5. And having received such power from him, I works of him that ought, while I am here, to exercise it, and shew the world that I am sent to enlighten it, by this emblem of curing him that is born blind.

sent me, while it is

day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

7 And said unto him,

Go, wash in the pool

of Siloam, (which

b which by the name of it may put you in mind of

is by interpretation, the Messias, (who is styled, The Sent,) by whom the

Sent.) He went his

way therefore, and cure is wrought. He went his way—

washed, and came

seeing.

8 ¶ The neighbours

therefore, and they

which

C

before had

had oft seen him before, and so knew that he had seen him that he was been blind, now seeing this cure wrought, some of blind, said, Is not them asked if this were not that blind man which was wont to sit and beg at such a place?

this he that sat and

begged?

9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.

10 Therefore said

1 dirt with the spittle, and spread the dirt upon the eyes of the blind, wŋλòv-kai éwéxXPITE τὸν πηλὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς

they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash and I went and washed, and I received sight.

12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

13 T They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others How can

said,

a

d besmeared.

e that mixture of earth and spittle.

f

Certainly such miracles cannot be wrought but

man that is a sinner by the finger of God, and so cannot be the work of do such miracles? an impostor, a man of sin, a great sinner. And there vision among them. was a division among

And there was a di

17 They say unto

them.

17. What opinion of him hath this work of power the blind man again, and mercy to thee wrought in thee? He said, He is

What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes ? He said, He is a prophet.

18 But the Jews

a prophet.

18. The consequent of this dispute was, that the

did not believe con- Jews at length would not believe the plain matter of cerning him, that he fact, that the man that now saw had ever been blind,

had been blind, and

received his sight, till the testimony of the parents made that clear.

until they called the

parents of him that

sight.

19 And they asked 19. And asked them these three questions: 1. whethem, saying, Is this ther this were their son? 2. whether they will affirm your son, who ye say was born blind? upon their knowledge that he was born blind? whehow then doth he ther they know how this cure was wrought, or by

now see?

20 His parents answered them and said, "We know that

whom?

3.

8 For two of the questions we answer distinctly,

this is our son, and We know &c.

that he was born

blind:

21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who

hath opened his eyes,

we know not: he h he is of age and understanding to answer that is of age; ask him: third question, and certainly is the fittest to give you he shall speak for an account for that matter which himself is so nearly

2

himself.

22 These words concerned in.

spake his parents, because they feared the Jews for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that

he was Christ, 'he i he should be ignominiously used, and put out of should be [b]put out the court..

of the synagogue.

age; ask him.

23 Therefore said 23. To avoid which danger it was that his parents his parents, He is of waved the answering of this question, and put it off to their son for this was a thing of such a nature, that 24 Then again called they the man that the affirming Jesus to have done it was in effect the 3 was blind, and said affirming him to be the Messias.

that this man is a sinner.

unto him, Give God 24. Then a second time they sent for and examined the praise: we know the man that had this miraculous cure wrought on him, attempting to draw him from that opinion of 25 He answered and Christ which he seemed to have, by bidding him assaid, Whether he be cribe the praise of his cure wholly to God, and not to *a sinner or no, I look on Christ with any veneration, telling him, that know not: one thing if he did it on the day and in the manner foremenI know, that, whereas I was blind, now tioned, it was thereby evident, that he was one that broke the sabbath, and so not from God, but an im26 Then said they postor, (see ver. 16, and 2 Thess. ii. 3,) who conseto him again, What did he to thee? how quently had no such virtue or piety as could contribute opened he thine eyes? any thing to this matter.

I see.

27 He answered them, 'I have told you already, and ye

k an impostor.

'I have told you, and you did not heed it; or else,

2 will tell you concerning himself, λaλhoei wepl—

3 had been blind, ἦν τυφλός.