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.
约翰福音 4
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
井边谈道
4 1-3 耶稣得知法利赛人听见祂收门徒、为人施洗比约翰还多，便离开犹太回加利利。其实不是耶稣亲自施洗，而是祂的门徒施洗。 4 祂回加利利的路上必须经过撒玛利亚。 5 于是，祂来到撒玛利亚的一座城，名叫叙加，靠近雅各留给他儿子约瑟的那块地。 6 雅各井就在那个地方。耶稣走路疲乏，坐在井旁休息。那时是中午时分， 7-8 门徒都进城买食物去了。有一个撒玛利亚的妇人来打水，耶稣说：“请你给我一点水吧。”
9 撒玛利亚妇人说：“你是个犹太人，怎么向我这撒玛利亚妇人要水喝？”原来犹太人和撒玛利亚人互不往来。
10 耶稣回答说：“要是你知道上帝的恩赐，又知道向你要水喝的是谁，你早就求祂了，祂也早就把活水给你了。”
11 妇人说：“先生，你没有打水的器具，井又深，你从哪里得到活水呢？ 12 我们的祖先雅各把这口井留给我们，他自己和他的儿女、牲畜都喝这井里的水，难道你比他更伟大吗？”
13 耶稣说：“人喝了这井里的水，还会再渴， 14 但是喝了我所赐的活水，永远不会再渴。我所赐的水要在他里面成为生命的泉源，涌流不息，直到永生。”
15 妇人说：“先生，请你把这种水赐给我，我就不会再渴了，也用不着来打水了。”
16 耶稣说：“去叫你的丈夫来。”
17 妇人说：“我没有丈夫。”耶稣说：“你说的对，你没有丈夫， 18 因为你已经有过五个丈夫了，现在和你同居的也不是你的丈夫。你说的是实话。”
19 妇人说：“先生，你一定是先知。 20 我们的祖先一向都是在这山上敬拜上帝，你们却说耶路撒冷才是敬拜的地方。”
21 耶稣回答说：“妇人，你当信我。时候快到了，你们将不在这山上，也不在耶路撒冷敬拜父。 22 你们不知道你们敬拜的是谁，我们知道我们敬拜的是谁，因为救恩是从犹太人出来的。 23 时候快到了，其实就是现在，真正敬拜父的，要用心灵按真理敬拜祂，因为父寻找的正是这样敬拜祂的人。 24 上帝是灵，所以必须用心灵按真理敬拜祂。”
25 妇人说：“据我所知，那被称为基督的弥赛亚要来。祂来了，会把一切都告诉我们。”
26 耶稣说：“我这跟你说话的人就是祂。”
27 这时，门徒回来了，看见耶稣和一个妇人谈话，感到惊奇，可是没有人问：“你想要什么？”或问：“你为什么和她说话？”
28 那妇人撇下水罐，回到城里，对人们说： 29 “你们快来看啊！有一个人把我过去的事全部说了出来。莫非祂就是基督？” 30 众人听了就到城外去看耶稣。
撒种与收割
31 其间，门徒对耶稣说：“老师，请吃点东西吧。”
32 耶稣说：“我有食物吃，是你们不知道的。”
33 门徒彼此议论说：“难道有人给祂吃的了？”
34 耶稣说：“我的食物就是遵行差我来者的旨意，完成祂的工作。 35 你们不是说还有四个月才到收割的时候吗？举目向田观看吧，庄稼已经熟了，可以收割了。 36 收割的人不但可以得到报酬，而且可以为永生收获果实，叫撒种的和收割的一同快乐。 37 俗语说得好，‘那人撒种，这人收割。’ 38 我派你们去收割那些你们没有劳作的庄稼，别人劳苦，你们享受他们劳苦的成果。”
39 那城里有许多撒玛利亚人信了耶稣，因为那妇人做见证说：“祂将我以前做的一切事情都说了出来。” 40 撒玛利亚人来见耶稣，恳求祂留下来，祂就在那里住了两天。 41 因为耶稣传的道，信的人更多了。 42 他们对那妇人说：“现在我们信，不再是因为你的话，而是我们亲耳听见了，知道祂真的是救世主。”
耶稣治好大臣的儿子
43 两天后，耶稣动身前往加利利。 44 祂以前说过：“先知在他本乡不受人尊敬。” 45 然而，祂回到加利利却受到当地的人欢迎，因为他们上耶路撒冷过节时，看见了祂所做的一切。
46 祂又到了加利利的迦拿，就是祂从前把水变成酒的地方。有一个大臣的儿子在迦百农患了病。 47 大臣听说耶稣从犹太来到加利利，立刻赶来见祂，求祂去医治他病危的儿子。
48 耶稣对他说：“你们不看见神迹奇事，总不相信。”
49 大臣说：“先生，趁我的孩子还没死，求你赶快去！”
50 耶稣说：“回去吧，你的儿子好了。”他相信耶稣的话，就回去了。
51 他途中遇见奴仆来报信说他儿子好了， 52 就问什么时候好的。仆人说：“昨天下午一点钟，烧就退了。”
53 他想起正是那时候耶稣对他说：“你的儿子好了！”他和全家都信了。
54 这是耶稣从犹太回到加利利后所行的第二个神迹。
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