John 4:1–14

Jesus and a Samaritan Woman

4The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more followers than John, ²although Jesus himself did not baptize people, but his followers did. ³Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard about him, so he left Judea and went back to Galilee. ⁴But on the way he had to go through the country of Samaria.

⁵In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about twelve o’clock noon. ⁷When a Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” ⁸(This happened while Jesus’ followers were in town buying some food.)

⁹The woman said, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink, since you are a Jewish man and I am a Samaritan woman.” (Jewish people are not friends with Samaritans. ⁿ)

¹⁰Jesus said, “If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹The woman said, “Sir, where will you get this living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. ¹²Are you greater than Jacob, our father, who gave us this well and drank from it himself along with his sons and flocks?”

¹³Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life.”