His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins is literally “neither this man sinned nor his parents.” A literal translation of this clause (Jerusalem Bible “Neither he nor his parents sinned”) could possibly sound like an absolute statement: neither this man nor his parents had ever sinned. Actually, Jesus is answering a question about a specific situation, and a translation should make it immediately clear that his answer relates only to the specific question (Phillips “He was not born blind because of his own sin or that of his parents”). In some languages one may say “His sin did not cause him to be blind, nor did his parents’ sin cause him to be blind” or “The fact that he is blind was not caused by what he did that was wrong or what his parents did that was wrong.”

The next clause in this sentence is literally “but that the works of God might be revealed in him.” The Greek word “that” (hina) frequently indicates purpose, and most translations evidently take it in that sense here (Good News Translation He is blind so that; Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible “he was born blind so that”). But the same Greek word may indicate result, and result is possibly the meaning here. This interpretation is supported by the observation that in the previous verse “that” (hina) clearly does indicate result (“who sinned, this man or his parents, that [= with the result that] he was born blind”). If this present clause indicates result, the meaning is that this man’s blindness offered an occasion for the power of God to be revealed. But, if this clause indicates purpose, it means that he was born blind so that Jesus could heal him of his blindness and so reveal the power of God at work. Some commentators quote Romans 9.17, which cites Exodus 9.16, as a parallel example of how God works in history to glorify his name. But the parallel is not very close, except that both passages indicate God’s ultimate control over history and the affairs of men. There are really more differences than similarities. In the Exodus account the plagues are a result of Pharaoh’s willful rejection of God’s rule, while in this instance of a man born blind, the man’s blindness cannot be due to his own sin.

That the man was born blind so that God’s healing power could be manifested in him may be expressed clearly in some languages as “the fact that he is blind means that God’s power may be seen at work in him” or “his being blind makes possible seeing God’s power at work in him” or “… seeing how God’s power can do something for him.”

It is, however, possible to translate this passage in a way that God does not appear as one who arbitrarily makes a man blind so that he can later show his power in healing him. In Good News Translation the words He is blind so that actually translates “but that” of the Greek text. The last part of verse 3 may be joined with the first part of verse 4 by placing a comma after him. The following translation would then result: “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins. But that God’s power might be seen at work in him, (4) we must keep on doing the works of him who sent me as long as it is day.” On the basis of the Greek, it is not only grammatically possible to translate in this way; it also suits the context well. Jesus’ answer to the disciples then becomes a rejection of their belief that the man’s blindness was due either to his parents’ sin or to his own sin, but he makes no judgement as to the reason that the man was born blind. He simply says that the man’s blindness offers an opportunity to show God’s power at work in him, and that Jesus himself has come to reveal that power at work in history. Apparently no modern translations follow this exegesis. It is not even discussed in the better commentaries, but it does make good sense, and it is grammatically possible. This arrangement of relations between clauses may be rendered in some languages “but in order that people may see God’s power doing something for him, we must keep on doing the works of the one who sent me as long as it is day.”

“The works of God” is taken by several other translations with the meaning of God’s power (New English Bible, Phillips; Moffatt “the work of God”). The term “work” is often used in John’s Gospel to refer to Jesus’ miracles, and even though the plural “works” is used in the present context, it is better translated by the singular “work,” in light of the observation that it refers to the particular miracle performed on this man. In some languages “the works of God” may be expressed as “the kind of works which only God does” or “… that only God can do.” The passive expression might be seen may, of course, be translated into the an active, “people may see.” One may therefore translate this entire final clause “in order that people may see in this man the kind of work that only God can do” or “… the kind of miracle that only God can make possible” or “… perform.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .