Translation commentary on John 4:13

Jesus answered is literally “Jesus answered and said to her” (see verse 10).

Jesus now begins to clear up the woman’s misunderstanding; he explains that he is referring to the water of eternal life (13-14).

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 4:13

4:13

Jesus said to her: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus said to her is more literally “Jesus answered and said to her.” Because Jesus is answering the woman’s question, you may want to indicate that what Jesus said was an answer. For example:

Jesus replied (NET Bible)
-or-
Jesus answered her (God’s Word)

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again: In this clause, Jesus says that people who drank the well water would soon need to drink again. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Those who drink this water will get thirsty again. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. (New Living Translation (2004))

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