Paragraph 4:39–42

The people of the town listened to the woman and believed in Jesus. They came to meet him and asked him to stay for a few days. At the end of that time they declared that they now knew for certain that he was the Christ.

4:39a

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus: This is an important point of the story. Many Samaritan people of Sychar believed in Jesus after the woman told them about him. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

Many were the Samaritans from that town who trusted in him.
-or-
A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus. (Contemporary English Version)

Samaritans: The word Samaritans refers to people from the district of Samaria. See how you translated this word in 4:7a.

from that town: The reference here is to the town of Sychar. See the notes on 4:5a and 4:28. These particular Samaritans lived in Sychar. In some languages it is more natural to supply the name of the town. For example

from the town ⌊of Sychar⌋

believed in Jesus: This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was, accepting him as the Messiah, and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated this idea in 1:7b and 1:12b. For example:

put their faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
trusted in him

4:39b

because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because of introduces a cause or reason. It indicates that the woman’s words caused many of the Samaritans to trust Jesus. Here are other ways to translate 4:39b:

because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
because of what that woman was testifying, saying “He told everything that I have done.”

The noun testimony introduces a direct quotation. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the woman’s words as an indirect quote. For example:

Many Samaritans from the town believed in Jesus because of what the woman said. She said to them that Jesus had told her all about her past deeds/actions.

testimony: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as testimony is a verb and means “testify (tell what one knows or has seen).” In many languages it is more natural to translate it as a verb. For example:

because the woman had said (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
because of the report of the woman who testified (NET Bible)

He told me everything I ever did: This statement is an exaggeration. Make sure that your readers will understand that the woman was exaggerating because she was excited. For example:

He told me all kinds of things about my life!
-or-
There was nothing from my past that he could not tell me!
-or-
He let me know that he knew all about what I have done.

In translating this statement, it is good to remember that the woman was ashamed of her life. She was not proud of it, and she was not boasting about her achievements.

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