Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
- KJV Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
- BSB Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
- 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 4:13There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
- Rev 2:23I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
- John 21:17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
- John 2:24–25But Jesus didn’t trust himself to them, because he knew everyone,
- John 1:47–48Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
- John 4:18for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.”
- John 1:42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).
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.