Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John^(A)— ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ So he left Judea^(B) and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria.^{(C) 5} So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.^{(D) 6} Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”^{(E) 8} (His disciples had gone into the town^(F) to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan^(G) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”^(H)

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well^(I) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.^(J) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water^(K) welling up to eternal life.”^(L)

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty^(M) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.^{(N) 20} Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,^(O) but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”^(P)

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming^(Q) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.^{(R) 22} You Samaritans worship what you do not know;^(S) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.^{(T) 23} Yet a time is coming and has now come^(U) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit^(V) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(W) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)^(X) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”^(Y)

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned^(Z) and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.^(AA) Could this be the Messiah?”^{(AB) 30} They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi,^(AC) eat something.”

³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat^(AD) that you know nothing about.”

³³ Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will^(AE) of him who sent me and to finish his work.^{(AF) 35} Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.^{(AG) 36} Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests^(AH) a crop for eternal life,^(AI) so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’^(AJ) is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town^(AK) believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”^{(AL) 40} So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”^(AM)

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man^(A)

9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.^{(B) 2} Some men brought to him a paralyzed man,^(C) lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,^(D) he said to the man, “Take heart,^(E) son; your sins are forgiven.”^(F)

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”^(G)

⁴ Knowing their thoughts,^(H) Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man^(I) has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God,^(J) who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew^(K)

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(L) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(M)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a](N) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(O)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(P)

¹⁴ Then John’s^(Q) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,^(R) but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?^(S) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.^(T)

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman^(U)

¹⁸ While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him^(V) and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her,^(W) and she will live.” ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.^{(X) 21} She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart,^(Y) daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.”^(Z) And the woman was healed at that moment.^(AA)

²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes,^{(AB) 24} he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead^(AC) but asleep.”^(AD) But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.^{(AE) 26} News of this spread through all that region.^(AF)

Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”^(AG)

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.^(AH)

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;^{(AI) 30} and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”^{(AJ) 31} But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.^(AK)

³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed^(AL) and could not talk^(AM) was brought to Jesus. ³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”^(AN)

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”^(AO)

The Workers Are Few

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.^{(AP) 36} When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,^(AQ) because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.^{(AR) 37} Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest^(AS) is plentiful but the workers are few.^{(AT) 38} Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”