What Does John 9:41 Mean in the King James?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The claim “We see” can be the very blindness that keeps the missing in place.
THE MEANING
This verse says that if you were blind, you would have no sin; the charge rests on those who say they see. When you claim sight while the missing remains, the claim itself exposes what is still there.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief is that being sure you see makes the missing disappear. Here, saying “We see” is exactly why the sin remains.
THE ROOT
ἁμαρτία
hamartía
GROWS FROM
ἁμαρτ-
Missing, erring, or failing to reach.
The Greek word for sin carries the sense of missing. The verse says that this missing remains when you claim to see, exposing certainty as no proof that the missing is gone.
ALSO GROWS
hamartánō: To miss, err, or do wrong.
ἁμαρτάνω
It makes “sin” an ongoing act of missing, not merely a label attached to you.
hamártēma: An act of missing or an offense.
ἁμάρτημα
It shows the word can name a particular instance of missing, the very thing the verse says remains.
μένει
ménei
GROWS FROM
μέν-
Stay, continue, abide.
“Remaineth” is a word of staying: the missing does not vanish when the speakers declare that they see. Its persistence makes their claim part of the exposure.
ALSO GROWS
ménō: To stay, remain, or abide.
μένω
This is the verb behind “remaineth”; the missing is still abiding.
monḗ: A dwelling place or abode.
μονή
The related word turns staying into dwelling: what is claimed away still has a place.
THE PATTERN
A claim of self-sufficiency can conceal the very need that would otherwise become visible.
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:THE THREAD
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.Both verses use ἁμαρτία (hamartía), “sin” or “missing.” John 9:41 says the missing remains beneath a claim of sight; 1 John 1:8 shows that claiming no missing deceives the self.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us