John 4:11-19

4:11 “Sir,” ¹  the woman ²  said to him, “you have no bucket and the well ³  is deep; where then do you get this ⁴  living water? ⁵  4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor ⁶  Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” ⁷ 

4:13 Jesus replied, ⁸  “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty ⁹  again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, ¹⁰  but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain ¹¹  of water springing up ¹²  to eternal life.” 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw ¹³  water.” ¹⁴  4:16 He ¹⁵  said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” ¹⁶  4:17 The woman replied, ¹⁷  “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ¹⁸  ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁹  4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with ²⁰  now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”

4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see ²¹  that you are a prophet.

¹ tn Or “Lord.” The Greek term κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage there is probably a gradual transition from one to the other as the woman’s respect for Jesus grows throughout the conversation (4:11, 15, 19).

² tc ‡ Two early and important Greek mss along with two versional witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ B sy^s ac²) lack ἡ γυνή (Jh gunh, “the woman”) here; א* has ἐκείνη (ekeinh, “that one” or possibly “she”) instead of ἡ γυνή. It is possible that no explicit subject was in the original text and scribes added either ἡ γυνή or ἐκείνη to make the meaning clear. It is also possible that the archetype of Ì⁷⁵ א B expunged the subject because it was not altogether necessary, with the scribe of א later adding the pronoun. However, ἡ γυνή is not in doubt in any other introduction to the woman’s words in this chapter (cf. vv. 9, 15, 17, 19, 25), suggesting that intentional deletion was not the motive for the shorter reading in v. 11 (or else why would they delete the words only here?). Thus, the fact that virtually all witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ א² A C D L W^s Θ Ψ 050 083 086 Ë^1,13 Ï latt sy^c,p,h sa bo) have ἡ γυνή here may suggest that it is a motivated reading, conforming this verse to the rest of the pericope. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has ἡ γυνή in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity. For English stylistic reasons, the translation also includes “the woman” here.

³ tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (frear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (phgh).

⁴ tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”

⁵ sn Where then do you get this living water? The woman’s reply is an example of the “misunderstood statement,” a technique appearing frequently in John’s Gospel. Jesus was speaking of living water which was spiritual (ultimately a Johannine figure for the Holy Spirit, see John 7:38-39), but the woman thought he was speaking of flowing (fresh drinkable) water. Her misunderstanding gave Jesus the opportunity to explain what he really meant.

⁶ tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”

⁷ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end. In this instance all of v. 12 is one question. It has been broken into two sentences for the sake of English style (instead of “for he” the Greek reads “who”).

¹¹ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

¹² tn Grk “will thirst.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.

¹⁷ tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.

¹⁸ tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).

²¹ tn Grk “or come here to draw.”

²² tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.

²⁶ tc Most witnesses have “Jesus” here, either with the article (א^c C² D L W^s Ψ 086 Ï lat) or without (א* A Θ Ë^1,13 al), while several important and early witnesses lack the name (Ì^66,75 B C* 33^vid pc). It is unlikely that scribes would have deliberately expunged the name of Jesus from the text here, especially since it aids the reader with the flow of the dialogue. Further, that the name occurs both anarthrously and with the article suggests that it was a later addition. (For similar arguments, see the tc note on “woman” in 4:11).

²⁷ tn Grk “come here” (“back” is implied).

³¹ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

³² tn Grk “Well have you said.”

³³ tn The word order in Jesus’ reply is reversed from the woman’s original statement. The word “husband” in Jesus’ reply is placed in an emphatic position.

³⁶ tn Grk “the one you have.”

⁴¹ tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.