April 4th, 2026

The season of Easter obviously begins with Easter Sunday. When dealing with the “official title”, the Resurrection of our Lord, there are many options of different texts, and these come at different times of the day. There is the Vigil of Easter, Easter Sunrise, Easter Day, and Easter Evening (which also has the option of being called Easter Monday, since in the creation account of Genesis the evening was connected to what is in our minds as the day after). The main service of Easter Day has three different options for the Gospel account, depending on which year it is, and this follows the three similar Gospel accounts. And since this year is year A, the reading is from the Gospel according to Matthew (28:1-10).

With the writings of this website, we are currently going through the Gospel according to John, the significantly different Gospel account, and we approaching the middle of that account. The tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day is increasing. The last part of the text from last week contained an attempt to stone Jesus, to kill him. In response to that, he did not simply snap his fingers and turn his enemies into dust. He is headed toward the cross, to be “lifted up” in a very special way.

Currently we are dealing with what is called chapter nine of the text. Each of these writings takes a section of the text in the original language of the account, and it translates that part of the text in an EXTREMELY literal way. If you are familiar with the translations of this writing, you may skip the following paragraph which describes such a translation.

The first thing to mention regarding the description of this EXTREMELY literal translation is that the verse numbers will not be included within the text itself. They were added much later after the document was written. It should also be noted that the words with hyphens occur when more than one English word is used to describe a single word of the ancient Greek. And some of the words chosen below are meant to point out the close connection that sometimes occurs between the English and Greek languages. It is also important to mention that the order of the words below is also the same order that is in the ancient Greek. This may help to show the important words, especially when another word besides the verb is first in the sentence. The exception to this translation order is that there are just a small number of words (like “therefore” and “now”) that are usually second in a sentence that are meant to be first when translated. It should be said that repetition of words is sometimes frequent and should be noted as an emphasis. One more thing to mention is that the verbs in capital letters are called HISTORICAL PRESENTS. That is when a verb in a past tense is expected, but a verb in the present tense is given. These have been explained elsewhere, and it may be helpful to read some of the other writings of this website. It may also be helpful to have another translation nearby as you read the text below.

What follows is an EXTREMELY literal translation of the first section of what is known as the ninth chapter of the Gospel according to John (9:1-12):

And  passing-along,  he-saw  an-anthropoid,  blind  out-of  birth.  And  they-questioned  him,  the  disciples  of-him  saying,  “Rabbi,  who  sinned,  this-man  or  the  parents  of-him,  that  blind  he-would-be-born?”

He-answered,  Jesus,  “Neither  this-man  sinned,  nor  the  parents  of-him,  but-on-the-contrary,  in-order-that  it-might-be-manifested,  the  works  of-the  God  in  him.  For-us  it-is-necessary  to-work  the  works  of-the  One-having-sent  me  while  day  it-is.  It-is-coming,  night,  when  no-one  is-able  to-work.  When  in  the  cosmos  being,  light  I-am  of-the  cosmos.”

These-things  having-said,  he-spat  on-the-ground,  and  he-made  clay  out-of  the  spittle,  and  he-christened-upon  him  the  clay,  upon  the  eyes,  and  he-said  to-him,  “Go-away,  wash  into  the  swimming-place  of-the  Siloam  (which  is-translated,  “having-been-sent-out”).  Therefore  he-came-away,  and  he-washed,  and  he-came  seeing.

Therefore  the  neighbors  and  the-ones  beholding  him,  the  formerly,  that  a-beggar  he-was,  they-were-saying,  “Not  this-man  is  the-one  sitting  and  begging?”  Others  were-saying  that  this  is-he.  Others  were-saying,  “No,  but-on-the-contrary,  like  to-him  he-is.”  That-one  was-saying  that  I,  I-am.   

Therefore  they-were-saying  to-him,  “Therefore  how  were-they-opened,  of-you  the  eyes?”

He-answered,  that-one,  “The  anthropoid,  the-one  being-called  Jesus,  clay  he-made,  and  he-christened-upon,  of-me  the  eyes,  and  he-said  to-me,  ‘Go  into  the  Siloam  and  wash.’  Therefore  having-come-away  and  having-washed,  I-saw-again.”

And  they-said  to-him,  “Where  is  that-one?”
​
HE-SAYS,  “Not  I-do-know.”