John 4

The Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well

1 Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples), 3he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And it was necessary for him to go through Samaria.

5Now he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6And Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, because he had become tired from the journey, simply sat down at the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me water#*Here “water” is supplied in the translation as the understood direct object of the verb “give” to drink.” 8(For his disciples had gone away into the town so that they could buy food.) 9So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How do you, being a Jew, ask from me water#*Here “water” is supplied in the translation as the understood direct object of the verb “ask” to drink, since I#*Here “since” is supplied as a component of the participle (“am”) which is understood as causal am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10Jesus answered and said to her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me water#*Here “water” is supplied in the translation as the understood direct object of the verb “give” to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket and the well is deep! From where then do you get this living water? 12You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you,#*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated by the supplied phrase “are you” in the translation who gave us the well and drank from it himself, and his sons and his livestock?”

13Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. 14But whoever drinks of this water which I will give to him will never be thirsty for eternity, but the water which I will give to him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or come here to draw water!”#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 16He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have said rightly, ‘I do not have a husband,’ 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you have now is not your husband; this you have said truthfully!”

19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people#*Here “people” is supplied in the translation because the Greek pronoun is plural say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, that an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23But an hour is coming—and now is here#*The word “here” is not in the Greek text but is implied—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. 24God is spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever that one comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.#*Here the predicate nominative is supplied from context in the English translation

The Disciples and the Harvest

27And at this point#*The word “point” is not in the Greek text but is implied his disciples came, and they were astonished that he was speaking with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you seek?” or “Why are you speaking with her?” 28So the woman left her water jar and went away into the town and said to the people,#Assuming the term is used here in a generic sense to refer to persons of either gender, it should be translated “people”; if instead the term here refers only to the town leaders or elders who met at the town gate, then “men” would be appropriate 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Perhaps this one is the Christ?” 30They went out from the town and were coming to him.

31In the meanwhile the disciples were asking him, saying, “Rabbi, eat something!”#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples began to say#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”) to one another, “No one brought him anything#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to eat, did they?”#*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated by the supplied phrase “did they” in the translation 34Jesus said to them, “My food is that I do the will of the one who sent me and complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months and the harvest comes’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.#Some interpreters and Bible translations place the word “already” at the beginning of the next verse: “Already the one who reaps receives wages …” 36The one who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, in order that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 37For in this instance#*The word “point” is not in the Greek text but is implied the saying is true, ‘It is one who sows and another who reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have worked, and you have entered into their work.”

The Samaritans and the Savior of the World

39Now from that town many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything that I have done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking#*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began asking”) him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word, 42And they were saying to the woman, “No longer because of what you said#Literally “your speaking” do we believe, for we ourselves have heard, and we know that this one is truly the Savior of the world!”

Return to Galilee

43And after the two days he departed from there into Galilee. 44For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own homeland. 45So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, because they#*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had seen”) which is understood as causal had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the feast (for they themselves had also come to the feast).

A Royal Official’s Son Is Healed

46Now he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was at Capernaum a certain royal official whose son was sick. 47This man, when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, went to him and asked that he come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people#*Here “people” is supplied in the translation because the Greek verb (“see”) is plural see signs and wonders, you will never believe!” 49The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!” 50Jesus said to him, “Go, your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he departed.

51Now as#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was going down”) he was going down, his slaves met him, saying that his child was alive. 52So he inquired from them the hour at which he had gotten better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was that#Some manuscripts have “that it was at that same hour” same hour at which Jesus said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed, and his whole household. 54Now this is again a second sign Jesus performed when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal came from Judea into Galilee.

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John 4: LEB

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