For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Parallel translations
- WEB for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.”
- BSB In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”
- NKJV for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
- NASB for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.”
- NLT for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
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 reveals that she has had five husbands and the man she now has is not her husband. His knowledge of her hidden life confirms his prophetic, indeed divine, insight.
Overview
Without condemnation but with clear truth, Jesus discloses the broken history of her relationships. His accurate knowledge of her life mirrors his knowing 'what was in man' (2:25). This gentle exposure of her need draws her toward the living water he offers rather than driving her away.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rom 7:3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
- 1 Cor 7:10–11And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
- Jer 3:20Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
- Mark 10:12And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
- Gen 34:31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
- Gen 20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
- Num 5:29This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
- Ezek 16:32But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
- Gen 34:2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
- Ruth 4:10Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
- Gen 34:7–8And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.
- Heb 13:4Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
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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 4:18 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.