The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t get thirsty, neither come all the way here to draw.”
- KJV The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
- NKJV The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
- NASB The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.”
- NLT “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get 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 asks for this water so she will not thirst or have to keep coming to the well. She is still thinking in physical terms, yet now drawn toward what Jesus offers.
Overview
Her request shows partial openness even as she misunderstands the spiritual meaning. She desires relief from her daily labor at the well. Jesus will gently move her from this surface request to confronting her real need by raising the matter of her life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 6:34“Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
- Rom 8:5Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- Ps 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
- Rom 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 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.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- John 6:26Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
- 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.
- 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.
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 4:15 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.