Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Job continues to speak

^6-8 Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired after his journey and he sat down by the well. It was about midday. His disciples had gone to buy food in the town. A woman from Samaria came to the well to get some water. Jesus said to her, ‘Please give a drink to me.’ ⁹ The woman from Samaria said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a woman from Samaria. Why would you ask me to give you a drink?’ (The Jews usually do not talk to people who come from Samaria.)^[a]

¹⁰ Jesus answered the woman, ‘You do not know what God could give to you. I asked you to give a drink to me. But you do not know who I am. If you did know, you would have asked me to give a drink to you. Then I would have given to you water that gives life.’ ¹¹ The woman said, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where can you get this water that gives life? ¹² Jacob, our ancestor, gave this well to us. He, his sons and his sheep, goats and cows all drank its water. Are you saying that you are greater than Jacob?’ ¹³ Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks water from this well will get thirsty again. ¹⁴ But I can give people a different kind of water. Everyone who drinks that kind of water will never get thirsty again. The water that I give them will become like a well inside them. That well will continue to provide water that gives them life for ever with God.’ ¹⁵ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give this water to me. Then I will never get thirsty again. And I will not have to continue to come here so that I can get water.’

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, ‘Go and fetch your husband. Then return here.’ ¹⁷ The woman replied, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say, “I have no husband.” ¹⁸ It is true that you have had five husbands. And now you live with a man who is not your husband. What you have said is completely true.’ ¹⁹ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshipped God on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the right place to worship.’^[b]

²¹ Jesus said to her, ‘Believe me, woman. Soon you will not worship the Father either on this mountain or at Jerusalem. ²² You people from Samaria do not know the one that you worship. But we Jews do know him, because God's salvation comes from among the Jewish people. ²³ But people will soon have a new way to worship the Father. Yes, that time has already come. Those people who really want to worship the Father will worship him in their spirits, in a true way. The Father looks for people who will worship him like that. ²⁴ God is spirit. People who worship him must worship from their spirits in a true way.’

²⁵ The woman said to Jesus, ‘I know that the Messiah will come. He is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ ²⁶ Jesus said to her, ‘I, who am speaking to you, am he.’