Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
Parallel translations
- WEB He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.”
- KJV He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
- NKJV He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
- NASB The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
- NLT Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
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 promises that from the one who believes in Him will flow rivers of living water, as Scripture said. Faith in Christ brings an overflowing, life-giving work of the Spirit.
Overview
Drawing on Old Testament imagery of water and life, Jesus declares that believers will become channels of the Spirit's life-giving power. This promise points to the abundant, satisfying, and outward-flowing reality of the Spirit given to those united to Christ. The next verse clarifies that this living water is the Holy Spirit, granted after Jesus' glorification.
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- Living Water"Rivers of living water" — the Spirit.
Cross-references · 14
- John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Isa 44:3For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Isa 58:11The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- Isa 12:3With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,
- John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Prov 10:11The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
- Zech 14:8And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
- Prov 18:4The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
- Gal 5:22–23But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- Isa 59:21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.
- Ezek 47:1–12Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
- Job 32:18–19For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.
- Deut 18:15The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
- Eph 5:9for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
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 7:38 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.