John 4
Christian Standard Bible
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
4 When Jesus[a] learned that the Pharisees(A) had heard he was making(B) and baptizing more disciples than John(C) 2 (though Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), 3 he left Judea(D) and went again to Galilee.(E) 4 He had to travel through Samaria;(F) 5 so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property[b] that Jacob(G) had given his son Joseph.(H) 6 Jacob’s well(I) was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.[c]
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water.(J)
“Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 because his disciples had gone into town to buy food.
9 “How is it that you, a Jew,(K) ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan(L) woman?” she asked him. For Jews do not associate with[d] Samaritans.[e]
10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God,(M) and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”(N)
11 “Sir,”(O) said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob,(P) are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”
13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.(Q) In fact, the water I will give him will become a well[f](R) of water springing up in him for eternal life.”(S)
15 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”
16 “Go call your husband,” he told her, “and come back here.”
17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered.
“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,(T) but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”(U)
21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.(V) 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here,(W) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.[g] Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit,(X) and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”(Y)
25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah(Z) is coming” (who is called Christ(AA)). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”(AB)
The Ripened Harvest
27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (AC) 30 They left the town and made their way to him.(AD)
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi,(AE) eat something.”
32 But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of him(AF) who sent me(AG) and to finish his work,”(AH) Jesus told them. 35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open[h] your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready[i] for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life,(AI) so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’(AJ) 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from[j] their labor.”
The Savior of the World
39 Now many Samaritans(AK) from that town believed in him because of what the woman said[k] when she testified,(AL) “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him,(AM) they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said.[l] 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior(AN) of the world.”[m]
A Galilean Welcome
43 After two days he left there for Galilee.(AO) 44 (Jesus himself had testified(AP) that a prophet has no honor in his own country.(AQ)) 45 When(AR) they entered Galilee, the Galileans(AS) welcomed him because they had seen everything he did in Jerusalem(AT) during the festival.(AU) For they also had gone to the festival.
The Second Sign: Healing an Official’s Son
46 He went again to Cana(AV) of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.(AW) 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea(AX) into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die.
48 Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders,(AY) you will not believe.”(AZ)
49 “Sir,”(BA) the official said to him, “come down before my boy dies.”
50 “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what[n] Jesus said to him and departed.
51 While he was still going down, his servants met him saying that his boy was alive. 52 He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at one in the afternoon[o] the fever left him,” they answered. 53 The father(BB) realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household.
54 Now this was also the second sign(BC) Jesus performed after he came from Judea to Galilee.(BD)
Footnotes
- 4:1 Other mss read the Lord
- 4:5 Lit piece of land
- 4:6 Lit about the sixth hour
- 4:9 Or do not share vessels with
- 4:9 Other mss omit For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
- 4:14 Or spring
- 4:23 Or in spirit and truth, also in v. 24
- 4:35 Lit Raise
- 4:35 Lit white
- 4:38 Lit you have entered into
- 4:39 Lit because of the woman’s word
- 4:41 Lit because of his word
- 4:42 Other mss add , the Messiah
- 4:50 Lit the word
- 4:52 Lit at the seventh hour
John 4
Expanded Bible
Jesus and a Samaritan Woman
4 The Pharisees [C a religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more ·followers [disciples] than John, 2 although Jesus himself did not baptize people, but his ·followers [disciples] did. 3 Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard about him, so he left Judea [C the southern region of Israel] and went back to Galilee [C the northern region of Israel; Mark 1:14]. 4 But on the way he had to go through the country of Samaria [C the central region occupied by a people disliked because they were only partly Jewish].
5 In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar [C perhaps Shechem or a village near it; compare Gen. 33:18–19; 48:22], which is near the ·field [plot of ground] Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from ·his long trip [L the journey], so he sat down beside the well. It was about ·twelve o’clock noon [L the sixth hour; C hours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM]. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to the well to ·get some [draw] water, Jesus said to her, “·Please give [L Give] me a drink.” 8 (This happened while Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] were in town buying some food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said, “·I am surprised [L How is it…?] that you ask me for a drink, since you are a ·Jewish man [L a Jew] and I am a Samaritan woman.” (Jewish people ·are not friends [do not share things; have no dealings] with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus ·said [answered; replied], “If you only knew the ·free gift [L gift] of God and who it is that is asking you ·for water [L “Give me a drink”], you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” [C “Living water” in Greek can mean fresh running water, but Jesus means “water which gives eternal life”; the woman misunderstands this play on words.]
11 The woman said, “Sir, where will you get this living water? The well is very deep, and you have ·nothing to get water with [L no bucket]. 12 Are you greater than Jacob, our father [C a patriarch recognized by both Jews and Samaritans], who gave us this well and drank from it himself along with his sons and ·flocks [or livestock]?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again [C because physical water only temporarily satisfies thirst], 14 but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty [C because spiritual renewal/eternal life is forever]. [L But; Indeed] The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life [Is. 12:3; 49:10; 55:1–3; Rev. 7:16].”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so I will never be thirsty again and will not have to come back here to ·get [draw] more water.” [C Her response indicates she does not understand.]
16 Jesus told her, “Go ·get [call] your husband and come back here.”
17 The woman answered, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. 18 ·Really [For] you have had five husbands, and the man you ·live with [L have] now is not your husband. You told the truth.”
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ·ancestors [forefathers; L fathers] worshiped on this mountain [C the Samaritans worshiped on Mount Gerizim near Shechem], but you [C plural, referring to the Jews] say that Jerusalem [C Mount Zion, the location of the temple] is the place where people must worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman [C a respectful form of address in that culture; 2:4]. The ·time [L hour; C the time of salvation established by the death and resurrection of Christ; see 2:4] is coming when neither in Jerusalem nor on this mountain will you ·actually worship [L worship] the Father. 22 You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand. We [C Jews] understand what we worship, because salvation comes from the Jews [C because the Messiah who brings salvation comes through the Jews]. 23 [L But] The ·time [L hour; see 4:21] is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in ·spirit [or the Spirit] and truth, and that time ·is here already [has now come; is now here]. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is ·spirit [Spirit], and those who worship him must worship in ·spirit [Spirit] and truth.”
25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” (Messiah is the One called Christ [C both Hebrew Mashiach and Greek Christos mean “Anointed One”; see 1:41].) “When ·the Messiah [L that one] comes, he will ·explain [report; announce] everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus said to her, “I am he—I, the one talking to you.”
27 Just then his ·followers [disciples] came back from town and were surprised to see him talking with a woman [C some Jews thought it a waste of time for rabbis to teach women]. But none of them asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Do you think he might be the ·Christ [Messiah]?” 30 So the people left the town and ·went to see Jesus [L were coming toward him].
31 Meanwhile, his ·followers [disciples] were ·begging [urging] him, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], eat something.”
32 But Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about [Deut. 8:3].”
33 So the ·followers [disciples] asked ·themselves [each other], “·Did somebody already bring him food [L No one brought him anything to eat, did they]?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do ·what the One who sent me wants me to do [L the will of the One who sent me] and to ·finish [complete] his work. 35 ·You have a saying [L Do you not say…?], ‘Four more months till harvest.’ ·But [Look; T Behold] I tell you, ·open your eyes and look at [L lift up your eyes and see] the fields ·ready [ripe; L white] for harvest now. 36 Already, the one who ·harvests [reaps] is ·being paid [L receiving wages] and is gathering ·crops [fruit] for eternal life. So the one who ·plants [sows] and the one who ·harvests [reaps] ·celebrate [rejoice] ·at the same time [together]. 37 [L For] ·Here [in this case] the saying is true, ‘One person ·plants [sows], and another ·harvests [reaps].’ 38 I sent you to ·harvest a crop that [reap what] you did not ·work [labor; toil] on. Others did the ·work [labor; toil], and you ·get to finish up [reap the benefits of; L have entered into] their work.”
39 Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus because of ·what the woman said [L the word of the woman who testified]: “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 When the Samaritans came to Jesus, they ·begged [urged; asked] him to stay with them, so he stayed there two more days. 41 And many more believed because of ·the things he said [L his word].
42 They said to the woman, “·First we believed in Jesus [L It is no longer] because of what you said, but now we believe because we heard him ourselves. We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Jesus Heals an Officer’s Son(A)
43 Two days later, Jesus left [L from there] and went to Galilee [C the northern region of Israel]. 44 (Jesus had ·said [testified; witnessed] before that a prophet ·is not respected [L has no honor] in his own ·country [or hometown; C probably a reference to Galilee, but some think Judea].) 45 When [L therefore] Jesus arrived in Galilee, the ·people there [L Galileans] ·welcomed [received] him. They had seen all the things he did at the Passover Feast in Jerusalem, because they had been there, too.
46 Jesus went again to visit Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine [2:1–11]. One of the king’s important officers lived in the city of Capernaum, and his son was sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Jesus and ·begged [urged; asked] him to come to Capernaum and heal his son, because his son was almost dead. 48 Jesus said to him, “·You people must see signs and miracles before you will believe in me [L Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe; 2:23–25; 6:26].”
49 The [royal] officer said, “Sir, ·come [L come down] before my child dies.”
50 Jesus ·answered [said to him], “Go. Your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus told him [C he did not need “signs” and miracles] and went home. 51 On the way the man’s ·servants [slaves; bond-servants] came and met him and told him, “Your son is alive.”
52 [L So/Then] The man asked, “What ·time [hour] did my son begin to get well?”
They answered, “Yesterday at ·one o’clock [L the seventh hour; C hours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM] the fever left him.”
53 [L So/Then] The father knew that ·one o’clock was the exact time that [L in that hour] Jesus had said, “Your son will live.” So the man and all ·the people who lived in his house [his household] believed in Jesus.
54 That was the second ·miracle [L sign; C the first sign was turning water into wine; 2:1–11] Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
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