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John 4
Legacy Standard Bible

Jesus Goes to Galilee

4 Therefore when (A)Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and (B)baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although (C)Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His (D)disciples were), 3 He left (E)Judea and went away (F)again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through (G)Samaria. 5 So He *came to a city of (H)Samaria called Sychar, near (I)the field that (J)Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about [a]the sixth hour.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

7 A woman of Samaria *came to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His (K)disciples had gone away into (L)the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the (M)Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How do You, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, being a Samaritan woman?” (For (N)Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you (O)living water.” 11 She *said to Him, “[b]Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then do You get that (P)living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who (Q)gave us this well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (R)will never thirst—ever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to (S)eternal life.”

15 The woman *said to Him, “[c]Sir, (T)give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come back here to draw.” 16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come back here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” 19 The woman *said to Him, “[d]Sir, I see that You are (U)a prophet. 20 (V)Our fathers worshiped on (W)this mountain, and you people say that (X)in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, (Y)an hour is coming when (Z)neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 (AA)You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for (AB)salvation is from the Jews. 23 But (AC)an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father (AD)in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is [e]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship (AE)in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman *said to Him, “I know that (AF)Messiah is coming ((AG)He who is called [f]Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus *said to her, “(AH)I who speak to you am He.”

27 And at this point His (AI)disciples came, and they were marveling that He was speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You speaking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and *said to the men, 29 “Come, see a man (AJ)who told me all the things that I have done; (AK)is this not the [g]Christ?” 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “(AL)Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the (AM)disciples were saying to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” 34 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to (AN)do the will of Him who sent Me and to (AO)finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white (AP)for harvest. 36 Even now he who reaps is receiving (AQ)wages and is gathering (AR)fruit for (AS)life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘(AT)One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

39 From (AU)that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, “(AV)He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is truly (AW)the Savior of the world.”

43 And after (AX)the two days He went from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself bore witness that (AY)a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, (AZ)having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

Jesus Heals a Royal Official’s Son

46 Then He came again to (BA)Cana of Galilee (BB)where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at (BC)Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come (BD)out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was about to die. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see [h](BE)signs and (BF)wonders, you will never believe.” 49 The royal official *said to Him, “[i]Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus *said to him, “(BG)Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51 And while he was still going down, his slaves met him, saying that his [j]son was alive. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the [k]seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and (BH)his whole household. 54 This is again a (BI)second [l]sign that Jesus did when He had (BJ)come out of Judea into Galilee.

Footnotes

  1. John 4:6 Perhaps 6 p.m. Roman time or noon Jewish time
  2. John 4:11 Or Lord
  3. John 4:15 Or Lord
  4. John 4:19 Or Lord
  5. John 4:24 Or Spirit
  6. John 4:25 Gr Christos; lit Anointed One
  7. John 4:29 Messiah
  8. John 4:48 Or attesting miracles
  9. John 4:49 Or Lord
  10. John 4:51 Or boy
  11. John 4:52 Perhaps 7 p.m. Roman time or 1 p.m. Jewish time
  12. John 4:54 Or attesting miracle
Close NABRE

John 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 4

1 [a]Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, just his disciples),[b] 3 he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

The Samaritan Woman. 4 He had to[c] pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,[d] near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.(A) 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 9 [e]The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”(B) (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) 10 [f]Jesus answered and said to her,(C) “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 [The woman] said to him, “Sir,[g] you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”(D) 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 14 but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”(E) 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” 17 The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ 18 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”(F) 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.(G) 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;[h] but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”(H) 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.(I) 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;[i] and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”(J) 25 [j]The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming,(K) the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he,[k] the one who is speaking with you.”(L)

27 At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,[l] but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, 29 “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 They went out of the town and came to him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.(M) 35 Do you not say, ‘In four months[m] the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.(N) 36 The reaper is already[n] receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.(O) 37 For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’(P) 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

39 Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman[o] who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” 40 When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”(Q)

Return to Galilee. 43 [p]After the two days, he left there for Galilee. 44 [q](R)For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. 45 When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Second Sign at Cana.[r] 46 (S)Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. 48 Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”(T) 49 The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.(U) 51 While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. 52 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” 53 The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. 54 [Now] this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.(V)

Footnotes

  1. 4:1–42 Jesus in Samaria. The self-revelation of Jesus continues with his second discourse, on his mission to “half-Jews.” It continues the theme of replacement, here with regard to cult (Jn 4:21). Water (Jn 4:7–15) serves as a symbol (as at Cana and in the Nicodemus episode).
  2. 4:2 An editorial refinement of Jn 3:22, perhaps directed against followers of John the Baptist who claimed that Jesus imitated him.
  3. 4:4 He had to: a theological necessity; geographically, Jews often bypassed Samaria by taking a route across the Jordan.
  4. 4:5 Sychar: Jerome identifies this with Shechem, a reading found in Syriac manuscripts.
  5. 4:9 Samaritan women were regarded by Jews as ritually impure, and therefore Jews were forbidden to drink from any vessel they had handled.
  6. 4:10 Living water: the water of life, i.e., the revelation that Jesus brings; the woman thinks of “flowing water,” so much more desirable than stagnant well water. On John’s device of such misunderstanding, cf. note on Jn 3:3.
  7. 4:11 Sir: the Greek kyrios means “master” or “lord,” as a respectful mode of address for a human being or a deity; cf. Jn 4:19. It is also the word used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew ’adônai, substituted for the tetragrammaton YHWH.
  8. 4:20 This mountain: Gerizim, on which a temple was erected in the fourth century B.C. by Samaritans to rival Mount Zion in Jerusalem; cf. Dt 27:4 (Mount Ebal = the Jews’ term for Gerizim).
  9. 4:23 In Spirit and truth: not a reference to an interior worship within one’s own spirit. The Spirit is the spirit given by God that reveals truth and enables one to worship God appropriately (Jn 14:16–17). Cf. “born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5).
  10. 4:25 The expectations of the Samaritans are expressed here in Jewish terminology. They did not expect a messianic king of the house of David but a prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15).
  11. 4:26 I am he: it could also be translated “I am,” an Old Testament self-designation of Yahweh (Is 43:3, etc.); cf. Jn 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5–6, 8. See note on Mk 6:50.
  12. 4:27 Talking with a woman: a religious and social restriction that Jesus is pictured treating as unimportant.
  13. 4:35 ‘In four months… ’: probably a proverb; cf. Mt 9:37–38.
  14. 4:36 Already: this word may go with the preceding verse rather than with Jn 4:36.
  15. 4:39 The woman is presented as a missionary, described in virtually the same words as the disciples are in Jesus’ prayer (Jn 17:20).
  16. 4:43–54 Jesus’ arrival in Cana in Galilee; the second sign. This section introduces another theme, that of the life-giving word of Jesus. It is explicitly linked to the first sign (Jn 2:11). The royal official believes (Jn 4:50). The natural life given his son is a sign of eternal life.
  17. 4:44 Probably a reminiscence of a tradition as in Mk 6:4. Cf. Gospel of Thomas 31: “No prophet is acceptable in his village, no physician heals those who know him.”
  18. 4:46–54 The story of the cure of the royal official’s son may be a third version of the cure of the centurion’s son (Mt 8:5–13) or servant (Lk 7:1–10). Cf. also Mt 15:21–28; Mk 7:24–30.
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