John 4:1-36

Departure From Judea

4:1 Now when Jesus ¹  knew that the Pharisees ²  had heard that he ³  was winning ⁴  and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), ⁵  4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. ⁶ 

Conversation With a Samaritan Woman

4:4 But he had ⁷  to pass through Samaria. ⁸  4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town ⁹  called Sychar, ¹⁰  near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ¹¹  4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside ¹²  the well. It was about noon. ¹³ 

4:7 A Samaritan woman ¹⁴  came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water ¹⁵  to drink.” 4:8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies. ¹⁶ ) ¹⁷  4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew ¹⁸  – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water ¹⁹  to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common ²⁰  with Samaritans.) ²¹ 

4:10 Jesus answered ²²  her, “If you had known ²³  the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water ²⁴  to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ²⁵  4:11 “Sir,” ²⁶  the woman ²⁷  said to him, “you have no bucket and the well ²⁸  is deep; where then do you get this ²⁹  living water? ³⁰  4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor ³¹  Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” ³² 

4:13 Jesus replied, ³³  “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty ³⁴  again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, ³⁵  but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain ³⁶  of water springing up ³⁷  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 ³⁸  water.” ³⁹  4:16 He ⁴⁰  said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” ⁴¹  4:17 The woman replied, ⁴²  “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ⁴³  ‘I have no husband,’ ⁴⁴  4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with ⁴⁵  now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”

4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see ⁴⁶  that you are a prophet. 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, ⁴⁷  and you people ⁴⁸  say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ⁴⁹  4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ⁵⁰  a time ⁵¹  is coming when you will worship ⁵²  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people ⁵³  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ⁵⁴  4:23 But a time ⁵⁵  is coming – and now is here ⁵⁶  – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks ⁵⁷  such people to be ⁵⁸  his worshipers. ⁵⁹  4:24 God is spirit, ⁶⁰  and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); ⁶¹  “whenever he ⁶²  comes, he will tell ⁶³  us everything.” ⁶⁴  4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

The Disciples Return

4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. ⁶⁵  They were shocked ⁶⁶  because he was speaking ⁶⁷  with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” ⁶⁸  or “Why are you speaking with her?” 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, ⁶⁹  4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ⁷⁰  can he?” ⁷¹  4:30 So ⁷²  they left the town and began coming ⁷³  to him.

Workers for the Harvest

4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ⁷⁴  “Rabbi, eat something.” ⁷⁵  4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say ⁷⁶  to one another, “No one brought him anything ⁷⁷  to eat, did they?” ⁷⁸  4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me ⁷⁹  and to complete ⁸⁰  his work. ⁸¹  4:35 Don’t you say, ⁸²  ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up ⁸³  and see that the fields are already white ⁸⁴  for harvest! 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay ⁸⁵  and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together.

[4:1]  ¹ tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì^66c,75 A B C L W^s Ψ 083 ˹³ 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì^66* א D Θ 086 ˹ 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.

[4:1]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[4:1]  ³ tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “was making.”

[4:2]  ⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[4:3]  ⁶ sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).

[4:4]  ⁷ sn Travel through Samaria was not geographically necessary; the normal route for Jews ran up the east side of the Jordan River (Transjordan). Although some take the impersonal verb had to (δεῖ, dei) here to indicate logical necessity only, normally in John’s Gospel its use involves God’s will or plan (3:7, 3:14, 3:30, 4:4, 4:20, 4:24, 9:4, 10:16, 12:34, 20:9).

[4:4]  ⁸ sn Samaria. The Samaritans were descendants of 2 groups: (1) The remnant of native Israelites who were not deported after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 b.c.; (2) Foreign colonists brought in from Babylonia and Media by the Assyrian conquerors to settle the land with inhabitants who would be loyal to Assyria. There was theological opposition between the Samaritans and the Jews because the former refused to worship in Jerusalem. After the exile the Samaritans put obstacles in the way of the Jewish restoration of Jerusalem, and in the 2nd century b.c. the Samaritans helped the Syrians in their wars against the Jews. In 128 b.c. the Jewish high priest retaliated and burned the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim.

[4:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[4:5]  ¹⁰ sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.

[4:5]  ¹¹ sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.

[4:6]  ¹² tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì⁶⁶ (“on the ground”) may be correct.

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “the sixth hour.”

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”

[4:7]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “buy food.”

[4:8]  ¹⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author, indicating why Jesus asked the woman for a drink (for presumably his disciples also took the water bucket with them).

[4:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “a Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” The same term occurs in the plural later in this verse. In one sense “Judean” would work very well in the translation here, since the contrast is between residents of the two geographical regions. However, since in the context of this chapter the discussion soon becomes a religious rather than a territorial one (cf. vv. 19-26), the translation “Jew” has been retained here and in v. 22.

[4:9]  ¹⁹ tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:9]  ²⁰ tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.

[4:9]  ²¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[4:10]  ²² tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:10]  ²³ tn Or “if you knew.”

[4:10]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:10]  ²⁵ tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.

[4:11]  ²⁶ 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).

[4:11]  ²⁷ 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.

[4:11]  ²⁸ tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (frear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (phgh).

[4:11]  ²⁹ tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”

[4:11]  ³⁰ 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.

[4:12]  ³¹ tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”

[4:12]  ³² 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”).

[4:13]  ³³ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “will thirst.”

[4:14]  ³⁵ tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.

[4:14]  ³⁶ 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.

[4:14]  ³⁷ 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).

[4:15]  ³⁸ tn Grk “or come here to draw.”

[4:15]  ³⁹ tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.

[4:16]  ⁴⁰ 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).

[4:16]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “come here” (“back” is implied).

[4:17]  ⁴² tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[4:17]  ⁴³ tn Grk “Well have you said.”

[4:17]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[4:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “the one you have.”

[4:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.

[4:20]  ⁴⁷ sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.

[4:20]  ⁴⁸ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “say” is second person plural and thus refers to more than Jesus alone.

[4:20]  ⁴⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:21]  ⁵⁰ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ⁵² tn The verb is plural.

[4:22]  ⁵³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[4:23]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:23]  ⁵⁶ tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.

[4:23]  ⁵⁷ sn See also John 4:27.

[4:23]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”

[4:23]  ⁵⁹ tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.

[4:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (qeos) is the subject.

[4:25]  ⁶¹ tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[4:25]  ⁶² tn Grk “that one.”

[4:25]  ⁶³ tn Or “he will announce to us.”

[4:25]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “all things.”

[4:27]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “his disciples returned”; Grk “came” (“back” is supplied in keeping with English usage). Because of the length of the Greek sentence it is better to divide here and begin a new English sentence, leaving the καί (kai) before ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) untranslated.

[4:27]  ⁶⁶ tn BDAG 444 s.v. θαυμάζω 1.a.γ has “be surprised that” followed by indirect discourse. The context calls for a slightly stronger wording.

[4:27]  ⁶⁷ tn The ὅτι (Joti) could also be translated as declarative (“that he had been speaking with a woman”) but since this would probably require translating the imperfect verb as a past perfect (which is normal after a declarative ὅτι), it is preferable to take this ὅτι as causal.

[4:27]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.

[4:28]  ⁶⁹ tn The term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) used here can mean either “people” (when used generically) or “men” (though there is a more specific term in Greek for adult males, ανήρ [anhr]). Thus the woman could have been speaking either (1) to all the people or (2) to the male leaders of the city as their representatives. However, most recent English translations regard the former as more likely and render the word “people” here.

[4:29]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

[4:29]  ⁷¹ tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

[4:30]  ⁷² tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.

[4:30]  ⁷³ sn The imperfect tense is here rendered began coming for the author is not finished with this part of the story yet; these same Samaritans will appear again in v. 35.

[4:31]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”

[4:31]  ⁷⁵ tn The direct object of φάγε (fage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.

[4:33]  ⁷⁶ tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.

[4:33]  ⁷⁷ tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (hnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.

[4:33]  ⁷⁸ 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 English (here it is “did they?”).

[4:34]  ⁷⁹ sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.

[4:34]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “to accomplish.”

[4:34]  ⁸¹ tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.

[4:35]  ⁸² tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.

[4:35]  ⁸³ tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.

[4:35]  ⁸⁴ tn That is, “ripe.”

[4:36]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.