The last part of verse 37 and all of verse 38 present translational problems growing out of alternative possibilities of exegesis and punctuation. A literal translation of this passage will show some of the problems: “If anyone thirsts let him come to me and let him drink (38) the one believing in me as the scripture says rivers will pour out from his stomach of living water.” Basically, the possibilities are two, though these two alternatives offer various combinations within themselves.
1. A major stop (a period or a semicolon) may be placed at the end of verse 37. It will give the meaning that the one who is thirsty and comes to Jesus to drink is the one to whom the scripture refers, that is, the one from whom streams of life-giving water will pour out. This exegesis is evidently preferred by most translators. In its support is the observation that the invitation to drink is more naturally offered to whoever is thirsty than to whoever believes in me. Moreover, after the thirsty man has come and drunk, he can then be spoken of as the believer from whom streams of life-giving water will pour out.
2. Alternative translations are possible if one places a comma, or no punctuation at all, at the end of verse 37, and puts a major stop after “the one believing in me.” This exegesis is followed by Jerusalem Bible:
“If any man is thirsty, let him come to me!
Let the man come and drink who believes in me!”
New American Bible also followed this exegesis:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me;
let him drink (38) who believes in me.”
Those who argue in support of this exegesis see here a chiastic arrangement, in which the first half of the first line is equivalent to the second half of the second line, while the first half of the second line is parallel to the second half of the first line. That is, “If any man is thirsty” is taken to be parallel to “whoever believes in me,” while “let him come to me” is considered parallel to “let the man come and drink.” However, this parallelism is not perfect; in fact, the first alternative makes a much simpler and more easily recognized parallelism. That is, whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink is parallel with whoever believes in me, streams of living water will pour out from his heart. According to this interpretation, the one who is thirsty and drinks becomes the source of living water for others, so that the second line takes up the first and expands it.
The problem of translation is further complicated by the phrase as the scripture says, since no precise quotation from scripture is given here, and commentators are not agreed as to what passage or passages may be alluded to. Accordingly, the words whoever believes in me may be taken as a part of the scripture quotation, or they may be understood as being outside the quotation.
Those who accept the second alternative naturally exclude these words form the scripture quotation. Those who accept the first have the choice: either to include or to exclude these words. Good News Translation included them (whoever believes in me) as a part of the scripture quotation; that is, As the scripture says, “Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will pour out from his heart.” But the translation could also read, “Whoever believes in me, as the scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will pour out from his heart.’ ” The alternative followed by Good News Translation is more natural. It is also the one generally followed by translators and commentators who accept the first alternative discussed above.
As noted in other passages, it is not possible in some languages to say the scripture says, for one cannot speak of “writings” as “speaking.” This phrase may be rendered as “as one may read in the writings” or “in accordance with the words of the writings.”
The phrase living water means “life-giving water.”
Some commentators take the phrase from his heart as a Christological reference. That is, since these words are taken as a quotation, they understand these words as a reference to Jesus, from whom streams of living water pour out for the believer. The basis for this viewpoint is that throughout John’s Gospel Jesus is the source of living water and of life in general. However, it seems more probable that in this particular context the believer is the source of life-giving water. Once a man has come to Jesus to drink, he himself becomes the source of life-giving water for others. This also is a more natural reading of the grammar of the Greek text. If the receptor language requires the translation to be explicit, it is suggested that the reference be to the believer. If, however, the receptor language does not require the translation to be explicit, a third person reference (his heart) may be used, thus allowing either interpretation. However, the best solution may be to place one interpretation in the text and indicate the possibility of the other in a marginal note.
From his heart is literally “from his stomach.” Some translators render it literally. Others translate as Good News Translation does. Some have “from his body” and others “from within him.” In support of Good News Translation is the observation that in Hebrew thought the “stomach” was often considered the seat of emotions, but for English speakers the “heart” symbolically has that function. Others point out that the Hebrew word “stomach” is restricted to passages where strong emotions are involved, and so they believe that heart is not an adequate translation here. However, in the present context it seems doubtful that “stomach” has an emotive connotation. Since most commentators agree that there is a tie between this verse and 19.34, where blood and water poured from Jesus’ side, a more general phrase, such as “from within him,” would seem to be the best rendering.
The order of elements in the quotation ‘Whoever believes in me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart’ is awkward in English. The introductory phrase Whoever believes in me is an element which should be in focus, but this arrangement can be misleading, especially if it is translated literally into another language. It may be more satisfactory to say “Streams of life-giving water will pour out from the one who believes in me” or “… from anyone who believes in me.”
As suggested above, streams of life-giving water may be rendered “streams with water which causes life” or “… causes people to really live.”
Since in some languages the idea of a stream flowing from a source would indicate a “spring,” it may be more satisfactory to say “springs of water which give life.”
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 .