Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

When Jesus[a] learned that the Pharisees(A) had heard he was making(B) and baptizing more disciples than John(C) (though Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), he left Judea(D) and went again to Galilee.(E) He had to travel through Samaria;(F) so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property[b] that Jacob(G) had given his son Joseph.(H) Jacob’s well(I) was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.[c]

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.(J)

“Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her, because his disciples had gone into town to buy food.

“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

  1. 4:1 Other mss read the Lord
  2. 4:5 Lit piece of land
  3. 4:6 Lit about the sixth hour
  4. 4:9 Or do not share vessels with
  5. 4:9 Other mss omit For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.
  6. 4:14 Or spring
  7. 4:23 Or in spirit and truth, also in v. 24
  8. 4:35 Lit Raise
  9. 4:35 Lit white
  10. 4:38 Lit you have entered into
  11. 4:39 Lit because of the woman’s word
  12. 4:41 Lit because of his word
  13. 4:42 Other mss add , the Messiah
  14. 4:50 Lit the word
  15. 4:52 Lit at the seventh hour

Jesus and a Samaritan Woman

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, although Jesus himself did not baptize people, but his ·followers [disciples] did. 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]. 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].

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. 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]. When a Samaritan woman came to the well to ·get some [draw] water, Jesus said to her, “·Please give [L Give] me a drink.” (This happened while Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] were in town buying some food.)

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.

井邊談道

1-3 耶穌得知法利賽人聽見祂收門徒、為人施洗比約翰還多,便離開猶太回加利利。其實不是耶穌親自施洗,而是祂的門徒施洗。 祂回加利利的路上必須經過撒瑪利亞。 於是,祂來到撒瑪利亞的一座城,名叫敘加,靠近雅各留給他兒子約瑟的那塊地。 雅各井就在那個地方。耶穌走路疲乏,坐在井旁休息。那時是中午時分, 7-8 門徒都進城買食物去了。有一個撒瑪利亞的婦人來打水,耶穌說:「請你給我一點水吧。」

撒瑪利亞婦人說:「你是個猶太人,怎麼向我這撒瑪利亞婦人要水喝?」原來猶太人和撒瑪利亞人互不往來。

10 耶穌回答說:「要是你知道上帝的恩賜,又知道向你要水喝的是誰,你早就求祂了,祂也早就把活水給你了。」

11 婦人說:「先生,你沒有打水的器具,井又深,你從哪裡得到活水呢? 12 我們的祖先雅各把這口井留給我們,他自己和他的兒女、牲畜都喝這井裡的水,難道你比他更偉大嗎?」

13 耶穌說:「人喝了這井裡的水,還會再渴, 14 但是喝了我所賜的活水,永遠不會再渴。我所賜的水要在他裡面成為生命的泉源,湧流不息,直到永生。」

15 婦人說:「先生,請你把這種水賜給我,我就不會再渴了,也用不著來打水了。」

16 耶穌說:「去叫你的丈夫來。」

17 婦人說:「我沒有丈夫。」耶穌說:「你說的對,你沒有丈夫, 18 因為你已經有過五個丈夫了,現在和你同居的也不是你的丈夫。你說的是實話。」

19 婦人說:「先生,你一定是先知。 20 我們的祖先一向都是在這山上敬拜上帝,你們卻說耶路撒冷才是敬拜的地方。」

21 耶穌回答說:「婦人,你當信我。時候快到了,你們將不在這山上,也不在耶路撒冷敬拜父。 22 你們不知道你們敬拜的是誰,我們知道我們敬拜的是誰,因為救恩是從猶太人出來的。 23 時候快到了,其實就是現在,真正敬拜父的,要用心靈按真理敬拜祂,因為父尋找的正是這樣敬拜祂的人。 24 上帝是靈,所以必須用心靈按真理敬拜祂。」

25 婦人說:「據我所知,那被稱為基督的彌賽亞要來。祂來了,會把一切都告訴我們。」

26 耶穌說:「我這跟你說話的人就是祂。」

27 這時,門徒回來了,看見耶穌和一個婦人談話,感到驚奇,可是沒有人問:「你想要什麼?」或問:「你為什麼和她說話?」

28 那婦人撇下水罐,回到城裡,對人們說: 29 「你們快來看啊!有一個人把我過去的事全部說了出來。莫非祂就是基督?」 30 眾人聽了就到城外去看耶穌。

撒種與收割

31 其間,門徒對耶穌說:「老師,請吃點東西吧。」

32 耶穌說:「我有食物吃,是你們不知道的。」

33 門徒彼此議論說:「難道有人給祂吃的了?」

34 耶穌說:「我的食物就是遵行差我來者的旨意,完成祂的工作。 35 你們不是說還有四個月才到收割的時候嗎?舉目向田觀看吧,莊稼已經熟了,可以收割了。 36 收割的人不但可以得到報酬,而且可以為永生收穫果實,叫撒種的和收割的一同快樂。 37 俗語說得好,『那人撒種,這人收割。』 38 我派你們去收割那些你們沒有勞作的莊稼,別人勞苦,你們享受他們勞苦的成果。」

39 那城裡有許多撒瑪利亞人信了耶穌,因為那婦人做見證說:「祂將我以前做的一切事情都說了出來。」 40 撒瑪利亞人來見耶穌,懇求祂留下來,祂就在那裡住了兩天。 41 因為耶穌傳的道,信的人更多了。 42 他們對那婦人說:「現在我們信,不再是因為你的話,而是我們親耳聽見了,知道祂真的是救世主。」

耶穌治好大臣的兒子

43 兩天後,耶穌動身前往加利利。 44 祂以前說過:「先知在他本鄉不受人尊敬。」 45 然而,祂回到加利利卻受到當地的人歡迎,因為他們上耶路撒冷過節時,看見了祂所做的一切。

46 祂又到了加利利的迦拿,就是祂從前把水變成酒的地方。有一個大臣的兒子在迦百農患了病。 47 大臣聽說耶穌從猶太來到加利利,立刻趕來見祂,求祂去醫治他病危的兒子。

48 耶穌對他說:「你們不看見神蹟奇事,總不相信。」

49 大臣說:「先生,趁我的孩子還沒死,求你趕快去!」

50 耶穌說:「回去吧,你的兒子好了。」他相信耶穌的話,就回去了。

51 他途中遇見奴僕來報信說他兒子好了, 52 就問什麼時候好的。僕人說:「昨天下午一點鐘,燒就退了。」

53 他想起正是那時候耶穌對他說:「你的兒子好了!」他和全家都信了。

54 這是耶穌從猶太回到加利利後所行的第二個神蹟。