Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
- BSB Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
- NKJV Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
- NASB He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
- NLT “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
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
Jesus tells her to call her husband and come back. This turns the conversation toward her personal life and need for honesty.
Overview
By asking about her husband, Jesus exposes the moral and relational reality beneath her request. It is not a trap but a means of leading her to self-knowledge and truth. The exchange shows that receiving living water involves facing one's actual condition before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Heb 4:13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
- Rev 2:23And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
- John 21:17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
- John 2:24–25But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
- John 1:47–48Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
- John 4:18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
- John 1:42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
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 4:16 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.