John 9 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The sign — the man born blind receives sight 9:1–7

vv. 1–5 — the theodicy question reframed: the works of God, the day, the light

And passing by,participial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εἶδεν; Jesus' gaze initiates, unpetitioned

he saw a man blind from birth.independent — ἐκ γενετῆς — congenital; the premise of the whole chapter

And his disciples asked him, saying:independent — the speech-frame for the theodicy question

'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,content — the mechanical either/or of retribution logic (cf. Exod 20:5)

that he was born blind?'purpose — ἵνα of conceived result — sin as assumed cause of the blindness

Jesus answered:independent — the Johannine reply-formula; the answer runs through v. 5

'Neither this man sinned nor his parents,content — both horns of the dilemma refused

but so that the works of God might be displayed in him.purpose — elliptical ἀλλ' ἵνα (supply 'this is') — the blindness as arena, not punishment

We must work the works of him who sent mecontent — plural ἡμᾶς — the disciples drawn into the mission; δεῖ of divine necessity

while it is day;conditional — temporal ἕως (typed cnd; no temporal key) — the daylight of the ministry

night is coming,content — futuristic present — the departure treated as imminent certainty

when no one can work.relative — temporal-relative ὅτε on νύξ — the absolute cessation

As long as I am in the world,conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — forward-leaning on εἰμι

I am the light of the world.'content — the ego-eimi of 8:12 restated — the sign about to enact the claim

vv. 6–7 — clay, Siloam, sight

Having said these things,participial — preposed aorist participle — leans on ἔπτυσεν

he spat on the groundindependent — the creation gesture begins — dust and moisture (Gen 2:7)

and made clay from the spit,independent — ἐποίησεν — the verb of Gen 1 LXX; πηλός five times in this chapter

and smeared the clay on his eyes,independent — ἐπιχρίω — NT only here and v. 11; an anointing under the Anointed's hand

and said to him:independent — the command that completes the sign

'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,'content — the double imperative — obedience as the hinge of the healing

which is translated 'Sent.'phrase modifier — narrator's translation gloss — the Sent One sends to the pool named Sent (cf. 20:21)

So he went awayindependent — the triple aorist of obedience begins

and washed,independent — the command performed to the letter

and came back seeing.independent — βλέπων — the transformation carried by one present participle

The neighbors' bafflement — the first interrogation 9:8–12

vv. 8–9 — is this the beggar?

So the neighbors, and those who used to see him before — that he was blind — were saying:independent — prolepsis (αὐτόν drawn ahead of the ὅτι-clause); iterative imperfect — the debate runs on

'Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?'content — οὐχ expects 'yes' — the beggar's social identity overturned

Some were saying:independent — recitative ὅτι — the community splits, the chapter's first division

'This is he.'content — identity affirmed

Others were saying:independent — the counter-voice

'No, but he is like him.'content — resemblance preferred to miracle

He kept saying:independent — iterative imperfect — his insistence against the debate; emphatic ἐκεῖνος

'I am he.'content — a plain self-identification — the echo of 8:58 audible but not pressed

vv. 10–12 — the first account of the healing

So they were saying to him:independent — the crowd accepts the identification and asks for the method

'How then were your eyes opened?'content — divine passive — opened by a power beyond agency; [οὖν] bracketed as printed

He answered:independent — the first of the man's three accounts

'The man called Jesus made claycontent — 'the man called Jesus' — the lowest rung of the ascending confession

and smeared it on my eyescontent — vv. 6–7 retold in the man's own words

and told me:content — recitative ὅτι — the command quoted inside the testimony

"Go to Siloam and wash."content — quotation within quotation — the healing word repeated

So going and washing,participial — preposed participles — the man owns his obedience; lean on ἀνέβλεψα

I received my sight.'content — ἀναβλέπω — 'saw again' said of one born blind: a first-time gift, not a recovery

And they said to him:independent — from the man's identity to Jesus' whereabouts

'Where is he?'content — the question the man cannot yet answer

He says:independent — historic present — the dialogue quickens

'I do not know.'content — the honest limit of his knowledge — the first οἶδα of the chapter's long duel

The Pharisees' first hearing — sabbath and a divided verdict 9:13–17

vv. 13–15 — brought to the Pharisees; the sabbath named

They bring him to the Pharisees —independent — historic present — the scene shifts to the authorities; the man is carried to judgment

the once-blind man.phrase modifier — verbless apposition — the narrator's ironic epithet before the willfully blind court

Now it was a Sabbathindependent — narrator's setting-notice, held back until the trial begins (cf. 5:9)

on the day when Jesus made the clayrelative — kneading forbidden on the sabbath (m. Shabb. 7:2) — the charge's legal basis

and opened his eyes.relative — coordinate relative — Jesus himself the active opener, no divine passive here

So the Pharisees also were asking him againindependent — πάλιν — the interrogation formally repeated; sustained imperfect

how he had received his sight.content — indirect question — the same πῶς as the neighbors'

And he said to them:independent — the second account — shorter, bolder

'He put clay on my eyes,content — ἐπέθηκεν for ἐπέχρισεν — the man paraphrases, not recites

and I washed,content — the testimony compressing

and I see.'content — the stative present βλέπω — the fact they cannot refute

vv. 16–17 — the division, and the man's verdict

So some of the Pharisees were saying:independent — the court itself begins to split

'This man is not from God,content — παρὰ θεοῦ — the origin question, the chapter's christological hinge

because he does not keep the Sabbath.'cause — the sabbath premise driving the syllogism

But others were saying:independent — [δὲ] bracketed as printed — the counter-argument from the sign

'How can a sinful man do such signs?'content — the rhetorical πῶς expects 'he cannot' — the premise the man will sharpen in v. 31

And there was a division among them.independent — σχίσμα — the judgment-as-division of v. 39 already at work (cf. 7:43; 10:19)

So they say to the blind man again:independent — historic present — the divided experts ask the beggar to adjudicate

'What do you say about him,content — emphatic σύ — the witness promoted to judge

since he opened your eyes?'cause — causal ὅτι — the undeniable fact grounds his standing to speak

And he said:independent — recitative ὅτι

'He is a prophet.'content — second rung of the ascending confession (cf. 4:19) — above 'the man called Jesus,' short of worship

The parents summoned — fear and deflection 9:18–23

vv. 18–21 — the parents confirm the facts and deflect

The Judeans therefore did not believe concerning himindependent — the chapter's key verb negated — they attack the premise, not the argument

that he had been blindcontent — the first disputed fact

and had received sight,content — the second — the double fact refused together

until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.conditional — temporal ἕως ὅτου (typed cnd; no temporal key) — the formal summons of corroborating witnesses

And they asked them, saying:independent — the parents on the stand

'Is this your son,content — the identity question

of whom you sayrelative — emphatic ὑμεῖς — the parents' own prior claim put in question

that he was born blind?content — the birth-blindness they must confirm or retract

How then does he see now?'content — the third question — the one the parents will refuse

So his parents answered and said:independent — the double speech-frame for the careful reply

'We knowcontent — the parents' οἴδαμεν — settled knowledge, safely confined

that this is our soncontent — fact one confirmed

and that he was born blind;content — fact two confirmed — exactly as far as safety allows

But how he now seescontent — fronted indirect question — leans forward on οὐκ οἴδαμεν

we do not know,content — first disclaimer — precisely what the court wants disclaimed

or who opened his eyescontent — second fronted indirect question — the agent's name withheld; leans on the second οὐκ οἴδαμεν

we do not know.content — emphatic ἡμεῖς — the double disclaimer sealed

Ask him;content — accountability transferred to the son

he is of age;content — the ἡλικίαν ἔχει refrain — legal-witness maturity invoked

he will speak for himself.'content — and speak he does (vv. 24–34) — the deflection sets up the son's boldness

vv. 22–23 — the narrator's aside: fear of expulsion

His parents said these thingsindependent — the narrator steps forward to explain the evasion

because they feared the Judeans;cause — the motive named — fear against the son's fearlessness

for the Judeans had already agreedcause — pluperfect συνετέθειντο — a standing decree, prior to this case

that if anyone should confess him as Christ,conditional — protasis inside the ἵνα-decree — leans on γένηται; ὁμολογέω, the public confession (cf. 12:42)

he would be put out of the synagogue.content — ἀποσυνάγωγος — only John (9:22; 12:42; 16:2); the rupture the man himself undergoes in v. 34

For this reason his parents said:independent — διὰ τοῦτο — the aside tied off; recitative ὅτι

'He is of age;content — the refrain of v. 21 repeated — bracketing the narrator's explanation

ask him.'content — the deflection restated, and the narrative returns to the court

The second hearing — the man's witness and his expulsion 9:24–34

vv. 24–25 — 'give glory to God,' and the one thing known

So they called the man a second time —independent — ἐκ δευτέρου — the witness formally recalled

the one who had been blind —relative — the identifying relative — his past still names him

and said to him:independent — the pressure to recant begins

'Give glory to God;content — the OT oath formula (Josh 7:19) — tell the truth, stop shielding the offender

we knowcontent — emphatic ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν — the verdict presupposed before the testimony

that this man is a sinner.'content — ἁμαρτωλός — the sabbath conclusion delivered as settled fact

So he answered:independent — emphatic ἐκεῖνος — the lone voice against the institution

'Whether he is a sinnercontent — fronted indirect question (εἰ = whether) — leans forward on οὐκ οἶδα

I do not know.content — their framing refused — he will not adjudicate sinfulness

One thing I know:content — the ἓν οἶδα confession — one certainty against their οἴδαμεν

that though I was blind, now I see.'content — concessive ὤν — the whole chapter compressed into one line

vv. 26–29 — the demand repeated, the taunt, the reviling

So they said to him:independent — unable to refute, they ask for the account again

'What did he do to you?content — hunting an inconsistency, or the technical violation

How did he open your eyes?'content — the same πῶς a third time

He answered them:independent — the witness turns cross-examiner

'I told you already,content — the testimony stands as given (vv. 15, 25)

and you did not listen.content — adversative καί — hearing without receiving

Why do you want to hear it again?content — the counter-question

Surely you do not also want to become his disciples?'content — the taunt — μή expects 'no'; the καί quietly claims discipleship for himself

And they reviled himindependent — λοιδορέω — argument gives way to abuse

and said:independent — the frame for the Moses-versus-Jesus antithesis

'You are a disciple of that man,content — contemptuous ἐκείνου — they will not speak the name

but we are disciples of Moses.content — Moses named with honor — the antithesis the man will invert

We knowcontent — the second ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν — certainty about Moses

that God has spoken to Moses,content — perfect λελάληκεν — the Torah-revelation standing on record

but as for this man, we do not knowcontent — prolepsis — contemptuous τοῦτον drawn forward; the professed ignorance

where he is from.'content — πόθεν — the Johannine origin-question (7:27–28; 19:9); the reader knows the answer

vv. 30–34 — the beggar's syllogism, and the expulsion

The man answered and said to them:independent — the beggar turns theologian — the reply runs through v. 33

'Why, in this is the remarkable thing:content — τὸ θαυμαστόν — their claimed ignorance converted into the scandal

that you do not knowcontent — epexegetic ὅτι on ἐν τούτῳ — emphatic ὑμεῖς: you, the experts

where he is from,content — their own πόθεν handed back

and yet he opened my eyes.content — adversative καί — the fact that makes the ignorance inexcusable

We knowcontent — the man takes up their own οἴδαμεν — common-ground theology

that God does not listen to sinners,content — the shared premise (Ps 66:18; Isa 1:15) — God hears no sinner's prayer

but if anyone is God-fearingconditional — protasis — leans on ἀκούει below; θεοσεβής, NT hapax

and does his will,conditional — second protasis limb — the double condition of the godly

God listens to this one.content — the apodosis — the positive half of the premise

From all eternity it has never been heardcontent — the empirical premise — appeal to all recorded memory

that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind;content — not even Moses or Elisha — the sign categorically unprecedented

if this man were not from God,conditional — second-class protasis (contrary to fact) — leans on ἠδύνατο

he could do nothing.'content — the syllogism lands — παρὰ θεοῦ, the very verdict of v. 16 decided

They answered and said to him:independent — no counter-argument — only the sentence

'You were born wholly in sins,content — the disciples' theodicy (v. 2) weaponized as insult

and are you teaching us?'content — indignant καί and emphatic σύ — the beggar has in fact been teaching them

And they threw him out.independent — ἐξέβαλον ἔξω — the ἀποσυνάγωγος decree of v. 22 enacted

Found by the Son of Man — confession, worship, verdict 9:35–41

vv. 35–38 — found, revealed, believed, worshipped

Jesus heardindependent — the initiative is Jesus' — he hears, seeks, finds (cf. 5:14)

that they had thrown him out,content — the expulsion reported in the narrator's own words from v. 34

and finding him,participial — preposed participle — the shepherd seeks the cast-out sheep (10:1–18); leans on εἶπεν

he said:independent — the climactic question follows

'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'content — υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου printed (P66 P75 ℵ B); Byzantine 'Son of God' a secondary assimilation

He answered and said:independent — emphatic ἐκεῖνος one last time

'And who is he, Lord,content — eager καί — only the object of faith is lacking, not the will; κύριε still 'sir,' about to deepen

that I may believe in him?'purpose — purpose of the asking — faith seeking its object

Jesus said to him:independent — the self-revelation

'You have both seen him,content — perfect ἑώρακας — the Siloam-given sight now put to its true use

and the one speaking with you is he.'content — cf. 4:26 to the Samaritan woman — the disclosure in the act of speaking

And he said:independent — φημί — the affirming speech-verb for the confession

'I believe, Lord.'content — the shortest full confession in the Gospel — κύριε now the title, not the courtesy

And he worshipped him.independent — προσκυνέω — in John the worship of God (4:20–24); the ascent from v. 11 reaches its summit

vv. 39–41 — the judgment saying: your sin remains

And Jesus said:independent — the interpretation of the whole sign

'For judgment I came into this world,content — κρίμα — the crisis the light causes by shining (3:19), not a punitive decree; emphatic ἐγώ

so that those who do not see may see,purpose — the man's half of the reversal

and those who see may become blind.'purpose — the Pharisees' half — the chiastic inversion of sight and blindness

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things,independent — partitive ἐκ — the court has followed Jesus into the scene

and said to him:independent — the defensive question

'Surely we are not also blind?'content — μή expects 'no' — the question that convicts by being asked

Jesus said to them:independent — the closing verdict

'If you were blind,conditional — second-class protasis — acknowledged blindness, the condition they refuse; leans on εἴχετε

you would have no sin;content — contrary-to-fact apodosis — need confessed would be need met

but now you say,content — νῦν δέ — the actual case; the claim itself constitutes the guilt

"We see";content — the chapter's key verb on the wrong lips — the false claim quoted

your sin remains.'content — asyndeton — the verdict falls; μένει, the abiding-verb turned against them (cf. 3:36)

Analysis. John 9 is a trial narrative, and the layout shows a lawsuit conducted almost entirely in indented blue: brief flush-left speech-frames (the historic presents flagged as they land — λέγει v. 12, Ἄγουσιν v. 13, λέγουσιν v. 17) each dangling a block of quoted testimony, so the page reads as alternating volleys of interrogation and witness. Three shapes organize the drama. First, the ascending confession: the man's quoted lines name Jesus 'the man called Jesus' (v. 11), 'a prophet' (v. 17), 'from God' (v. 33), and at last 'Lord' with worship (v. 38) — each rung hangs in the same position under a verb of answering, so the ascent is visible as identical shapes filled with rising content. Second, the duel of οἶδα/οἴδαμεν: 'we know' (the Pharisees, vv. 24, 29), 'we do not know' (the parents, v. 21 — their fronted indirect questions lean forward, anchorless, on the double disclaimer), and 'one thing I know' (the man, v. 25). Third, the conditional architecture of the argument: forward-leaning protases stack above their apodoses at v. 22 (the expulsion decree inside its ἵνα), v. 31 (the two-limbed God-hears-the-godly premise), v. 33 (second-class: 'if he were not from God'), and v. 41 (second-class again, Jesus' closing verdict). The narrator's asides sit as their own lines: the Siloam gloss (v. 7, a mod line under the pool's name — 'Sent,' the chapter's christology in an etymology), the sabbath notice (v. 14), and the full aside of vv. 22–23 explaining the parents' fear by the standing ἀποσυνάγωγος decree (only John: 9:22; 12:42; 16:2). Cruxes taken or flagged: v. 35 prints υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (P66 P75 ℵ B) against the Byzantine 'Son of God'; the bracketed [οὖν] (v. 10) and [δὲ] (v. 16) stand as printed; κρίμα in v. 39 is glossed as the crisis the light causes rather than a punitive decree; and the man's Ἐγώ εἰμι (v. 9) is a plain self-identification whose echo of 8:58 the tag names without pressing.