Paragraph 4:7–15

A Samaritan woman came to the well where Jesus was resting. Jesus asked her for water to drink, and then he offered her living water that would lead to eternal life.

4:7a

a Samaritan woman: This phrase refers to a woman who was a member of the Samaritan people group and lived in the region of Samaria.

came: The woman came to the well. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

came to the well (New Century Version)

to draw water: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to draw water indicates the woman’s purpose in coming to the well. The woman’s purpose was to draw water, meaning to get or remove water. She probably pulled the water up from the bottom of the well in a bucket. Then she carried it home in a jar. This was the way people usually got water in Jesus’ time. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

to get some water (God’s Word)
-or-
to draw water from the well (Contemporary English Version)

4:7b

Jesus said to her: The pronoun her refers to the woman who came to the well. In some languages it is more natural to make this explicit. For example:

Jesus said to ⌊this woman⌋

said: Jesus asked the woman to give him a drink of water. Translate this verb using a word that is natural for making a polite request. For example:

asked (Contemporary English Version)

Give Me a drink: Jesus made this request politely. In some languages it is more polite and natural to say it in one of these ways:

Please give me a drink. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Would you please give me a drink of water? (Contemporary English Version)

General Comment on 4:7b

In some languages it may be more natural to translate 4:7b as indirect speech. For example:

Jesus asked her for a drink of water.

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