The stories

The verses in the catalog are not scattered sayings. Most belong to a story: a person, a place, something that led up to the moment and something that came after. Here are 24 of them, each with the full passage.

Every story has three parts besides the passage itself: what led up to it, what happens, and what the text lets us notice from the blind person's side. That last part is an invitation to stand where they stood.

Sight lost and not given back

Six people who lost their sight and lived the rest of their lives without it. Four went blind in old age. Two were blinded by their enemies.

• Isaac and the stolen blessing. Genesis 27:1-4; Genesis 27:18-27; Genesis 27:30-35. Sight not restored.
• Jacob blesses Joseph's sons. Genesis 48:8-20. Sight not restored.
• Eli at Shiloh. 1 Samuel 3:1-18; 1 Samuel 4:12-18. Sight not restored.
• Ahijah and the disguised queen. 1 Kings 14:1-13. Sight not restored.
• Samson in Gaza. Judges 16:18-31. Sight not restored.
• Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. 2 Kings 25:1-7; Jeremiah 39:4-7; Jeremiah 52:8-11. Sight not restored.

Sight taken for a time

Four accounts where sight is taken suddenly, and in three of them it returns.

• The men at Lot's door. Genesis 19:1-11. Blind for a time.
• Elisha and the Aramean raiders. 2 Kings 6:8-23. Sight restored.
• Saul on the road to Damascus. Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:6-16. Sight restored.
• Elymas the sorcerer. Acts 13:6-12. Blind for a time.

Sight given by Jesus

The healing accounts in the Gospels, from single encounters told in detail to crowds mentioned in a line.

• Two blind men follow Jesus. Matthew 9:27-31. Sight restored.
• A man who was blind and mute. Matthew 12:22-24. Sight restored.
• The blind man at Bethsaida. Mark 8:22-26. Sight restored.
• Bartimaeus at Jericho. Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43; Matthew 20:29-34. Sight restored.
• The man born blind. John 9:1-41. Sight restored.
• The blind and the lame in the temple. Matthew 21:12-16. Sight restored.
• The crowds on the mountain. Matthew 15:29-31. Sight restored.
• Jesus's answer to John the Baptist. Matthew 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23. Sight restored.

Blind people among the crowd and at the table

Passages where blind people are present, named as a group, threatened, cared for, or invited.

• The pool of Bethesda. John 5:1-9. No change in sight is described.
• The guests at the banquet. Luke 14:12-24. No change in sight is described.
• The blind and the lame come home. Jeremiah 31:7-9. No change in sight is described.
• Job: eyes to the blind. Job 29:11-17. No change in sight is described.
• The threat at Jabesh-gilead. 1 Samuel 11:1-11. The blinding was prevented.
• The taunt at Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 5:6-10. No change in sight is described.