Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- BSB Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- NKJV Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- NASB and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- NLT Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.
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
Tired from the journey, Jesus sat by Jacob's well around noon. The scene shows his genuine humanity even as he is the Son of God.
Overview
Jesus' weariness and thirst display the reality of the incarnation: the eternal Word truly shares our human frailty. The midday hour ('sixth hour') and the well set the stage for the unexpected meeting with the Samaritan woman. His tiredness frames the irony that he will offer her water that never runs dry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Heb 4:15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
- Heb 2:17Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
- Matt 8:24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
- Matt 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
- Matt 4:2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
- 2 Cor 8:9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
- John 11:9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
- Luke 2:7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
- Luke 9:58And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:6 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.