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
- 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).
- 4:2 An editorial refinement of Jn 3:22, perhaps directed against followers of John the Baptist who claimed that Jesus imitated him.
- 4:4 He had to: a theological necessity; geographically, Jews often bypassed Samaria by taking a route across the Jordan.
- 4:5 Sychar: Jerome identifies this with Shechem, a reading found in Syriac manuscripts.
- 4:9 Samaritan women were regarded by Jews as ritually impure, and therefore Jews were forbidden to drink from any vessel they had handled.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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.
- 4:27 Talking with a woman: a religious and social restriction that Jesus is pictured treating as unimportant.
- 4:35 ‘In four months… ’: probably a proverb; cf. Mt 9:37–38.
- 4:36 Already: this word may go with the preceding verse rather than with Jn 4:36.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
John 4
Amplified Bible
Jesus Goes to Galilee
4 So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and returned again to Galilee. 4 Now [a]He had to go through [b]Samaria. 5 So He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).
The Samaritan Woman
7 Then a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink”— 8 For His disciples had gone off into the city to buy food— 9 The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a [c]Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).” 11 She said to Him, “Sir, [d]You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father [e]Jacob, who gave us the well, and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?” 13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.” 16 At this, Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 The woman answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I do not have a husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your [f]husband. You have said this truthfully.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].” 21 Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).”
27 Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done! Can this be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)?” 30 So the people left the city and were coming to Him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus [to have a meal], saying, “Rabbi (Teacher), eat.” 32 But He told them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest. 36 Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One [person] sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.”
The Samaritans
39 Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked Him to remain with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them]; 42 and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”
43 After the two days He went on from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself declared that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans [g]welcomed Him, since they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they too came to the feast.
Healing a Nobleman’s Son
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a [h]certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. 47 Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he [i]went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.” 49 The royal official pleaded with Him, “Sir, do come down [at once] before my child dies!” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives!” The man believed what Jesus said to him and started home. 51 As he was already going down [the road], his servants met him and reported that his son was living [and was healthy]. 52 So he asked them at what time he began to get better. They said, “Yesterday during the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 Then the father realized that it was at that very hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives”; and he and his entire household believed and confidently trusted [in Him as Savior]. 54 This is the second sign (attesting miracle) that Jesus performed [in Cana] after He had come from Judea to Galilee [revealing that He is the Messiah].
Footnotes
- John 4:4 Jesus went through Samaria to show that He is the Savior of all people.
- John 4:4 Samaria was centrally located between Judea (south) and Galilee (north). The Jews despised Samaritans because they were Jews who had intermarried with non-Jews and followed a heretical religion. Most Jews traveled out of their way to avoid Samaria.
- John 4:9 The Jews considered Samaritan women ceremonially unclean.
- John 4:11 The woman’s response is due to the fact that “living water” was the normal description for running water. She probably thought that Jesus was referring to the underground water source that fed the well.
- John 4:12 Jacob (renamed Israel in Gen 32:28) was the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham and father of the twelve sons who established the twelve tribes of Israel.
- John 4:18 God does not regard cohabitation as marriage. Marriage is a binding, legal covenant between a man and a woman.
- John 4:45 In view of John’s wording in v 44 (For Jesus Himself declared...), the Galileans evidently were very interested in His miracles, but did not recognize or regard Jesus as their source of salvation.
- John 4:46 Probably an official of Herod Antipas.
- John 4:47 Capernaum to Cana was about eighteen miles.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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