But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
Parallel translations
- WEB but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
- KJV But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
- NKJV but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
- NASB but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
- NLT But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
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
Whoever drinks the water Jesus gives will never thirst again, for it becomes a spring welling up to eternal life. Christ alone satisfies the soul's deepest thirst.
Overview
The 'living water' Jesus gives, understood as the Spirit and the eternal life he brings, fully and permanently satisfies. Unlike Jacob's well, this water becomes an inner, ongoing source of life. The promise reveals Jesus as the giver of eternal life that no earthly thing can supply.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- John 7:38–39Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- John 6:35Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
- Isa 49:10They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- Rev 7:16‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Eph 1:13–14And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
- John 11:26And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- John 6:58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
- 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- 2 Cor 1:22placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
- Rom 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Rom 8:16–17The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
- 1 Pet 1:22Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- John 17:2–3For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- John 14:16–19And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
- Rom 5:21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Eph 4:30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
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 4:14 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.