“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water?
Parallel translations
- WEB 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?
- 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?
- 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 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 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- John 3:4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.
How John 4:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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