You Samaritans is literally “you” (plural), while we Jews is literally “we.” Good News Translation and several other translations identify thus the persons referred to.

Whom you worship is literally “what you worship.” Most other translations render this phrase literally, using the neuter “what” rather than the masculine whom. Although the term used in the Greek text is neuter, the reference is obviously to God, and Good News Translation accordingly uses the masculine rather than the neuter. (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the reference to God explicit: “you Samaritans do not know God.”) In John 10.29 the neuter is used of the believers whom the Father has given to the Son, and in 1 John 1.1 a neuter pronoun is used in reference to the Word. Phillips certainly misses the point in rendering “You are worshiping with your eyes shut. We Jews are worshiping with our eyes open.”

Though some form of worship is universal, in various parts of the world, the ways in which worship is designated may differ radically. In some instances one may use simply an expression for “prayer,” for example, “to speak to God.” In others the attitude of the worshiper is in focus, for example, “to be reverent before God” or “to be silent before God.” Sometimes the emphasis is upon the position of the worshiper, for example, “to kneel down before God” or “to bow low before God.” Sometimes some activity associated with worship may be mentioned, for example, “to bring gifts to God” or even “to sacrifice to God.”

Because it is from the Jews that salvation comes affirms the reality of the historical situation, in which God has revealed himself in a unique way to the Jewish people. This verse both indicates that the Gospel is not anti-Semitic in the modern sense of the word, and it affirms the historical reality of the situation. A literal translation of because it is from the Jews that salvation comes may be misleading in some languages and may even suggest that the Jews are the ones who will save people. God, of course, is the agent of salvation, but the knowledge about how God saves people comes from the Jews. This truth may be expressed in some languages as “because the Jews are the ones who can tell how God saves people,” or “… through whom God promised salvation.” This ability of the Jews to point the way to salvation reflects the historical reality of God’s special dealings with the Jewish nation.

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 .