Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Jesus is literally “But from that town many believed in him of the Samaritans.” Very few translations are literal here; most of them, like Good News Translation, attempt a clearer way to convey the meaning. Note Jerusalem Bible “Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him” and New English Bible “Many Samaritans of that town came to believe in him.”

Believed in Jesus (“him”) is a favorite Johannine expression (7.31; 8.30; 10.42; 11.45; 12.42). Initially the faith of the Samaritans was based on the woman’s testimony, rather than on any mighty work they had seen Jesus do (compare 2.11,23; 7.31; 11.45). But others came to believe because of their own immediate encounter with Jesus (see verse 42, and note also 8.30). Some translators are reluctant to use here the same expression for “believed in” employed in many other contexts in the Gospel of John. To them it seems impossible that the Samaritans could have really “believed in Jesus” solely on the basis of what the woman had said. This tendency to “dilute” the meaning of the phrase “believe in” may reflect a wrong concept of the biblical meaning of “trust.” At any rate, it is not legitimate to shift the evident intent of the writer simply because the context appears to be somewhat unusual.

Had said is literally “had witnessed.” (On the meaning of the verb “to witness,” see 1.7.)

It is true that the statement He told me everything I have ever done is a rhetorical exaggeration, technically called hyperbole. Obviously during the short conversation Jesus had with this woman, he did not relate to her everything she had done throughout her life. However, it is not justifiable to modify the statement of the writer on this basis. In all languages there are degrees of rhetorical exaggeration, and in this particular setting the statement of the woman can be readily understood and evaluated.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .