The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. So where do you get that living water?
Parallel translations
- KJV The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
- BSB “Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?
- ESV The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
- NKJV The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
- NASB She *said to Him, “Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water?
- NLT “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The woman, taking him literally, notes he has nothing to draw with and the well is deep, so she asks where he gets living water. Like Nicodemus, she misunderstands at the natural level.
Overview
Her practical objection mirrors the pattern of literal misunderstanding common in John's Gospel. She thinks only of ordinary spring water from a deep well. Her question, however, presses Jesus to disclose more about the surpassing gift he offers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Cor 2:14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 3:4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
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Original language
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