Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

John 4:15
ESV The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."
NIV The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
NASB The woman *said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.'
CSB "Sir," the woman said to him, "give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water."
NLT Please, sir,' the woman said, 'give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.'
KJV The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
NKJV The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

What does John 4:15 mean?

Judging by her response (John 4:11–12), the Samaritan woman probably realized immediately that Jesus was not speaking literally of water and wells. At the same time, His teachings were often misinterpreted in a physical way. Her answer here might reflect a deep misunderstanding of the point Jesus is making. More likely, however, she is being sarcastic. She has already scoffed at Jesus for posing as someone greater than Jacob (John 4:12). Since Jesus is still speaking in mostly symbolic terms, she is probably rolling her eyes at Him at this point.

Whatever her real motivation, the woman now asks Jesus to provide her with the water about which He has been speaking. Jesus' reply (John 4:16) is critically important to understand for two reasons. First, even though she is asking for the "living water," Jesus initially refuses her request. Since she doesn't understand what He's speaking of, she's not ready for it (Matthew 13:20–21). The gospel wouldn't be able to grow roots in her, yet.

Secondly, Jesus' response in the next three verses will grab every bit of the Samaritan woman's attention.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit