John 4:4-26 - Conversation With A Samaritan Woman

4 He had to pass through Samaria, 5 and in so doing he arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar; it lay near the territory which Jacob had given to his son Joseph, 6 and Jacob's spring was there. Jesus, exhausted by the journey, sat down at the spring, just as he was. It was about noon,

7 and a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink" 8 (his disciples had gone to the town to buy some food).

9 The Samaritan woman said, "What? You are a Jew, and you ask me for a drink ??me, a Samaritan!" (Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered, "If you knew what is the free gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him instead, and he would have given you 'living' water."

11 "Sir," said the woman, "you have nothing to draw water with, and it is a deep well; where do you get your 'living' water? 12 Are you a greater man than Jacob, our ancestor? He gave us this well, and he drank from it, with his sons and his cattle."

13 Jesus answered, "Anyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but anyone who drinks the water I shall give him will never thirst any more; the water I shall give him will turn into a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

15 "Ah, sir," said the woman, "give me this water, so that I need not thirst or come all this road to draw water."

16 Jesus said to her, "Go and call your husband, then come back here."

17 The woman replied, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You were right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 you have had five husbands, and he whom you have now espoused is not your husband. That was a true word."

19 "Sir," said the woman, "I see you are a prophet. 20 Now our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, whereas you Jews declare the proper place for worship is at Jerusalem."

21 "Woman," said Jesus, "believe me, the time is coming when you will be worshipping the Father neither on this mountain nor at Jerusalem. 22 You are worshipping something you do not know; we are worshipping what we do know ??for salvation comes from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming, it has come already, when the real worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in reality; for these are the worshippers that the Father wants. 24 God is Spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in Spirit and in reality."

25 The woman said to him, "Well, I know messiah (which means Christ) is coming. When he arrives, he will explain it all to us."

26 "I am messiah," said Jesus, "I who am talking to you."