The Woman at the Well
The Samaritan Woman
A Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob's well in Sychar. Through her conversation with Jesus, she became the first person to whom he revealed himself as the Messiah, and she became an early evangelist who led many from her town to faith in Jesus.
Événements clés
The Meeting at Jacob's Well
Jesus asked the woman for water at the well, which was remarkable since Jews normally did not associate with Samaritans. This began a deep conversation about living water.
4He had to pass through Samaria.
ἔδει δὲ αὐτὸν διέρχεσθαι διὰ τῆς Σαμαρείας.
5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
ἔρχεται οὖν εἰς πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας λεγομένην Συχὰρ πλησίον τοῦ χωρίου ὃ ἔδωκεν Ἰακὼβ ⸀τῷ Ἰωσὴφ τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ·
6Jacob's well was there. Jesus, worn out from the journey, sat down just as he was beside the well. It was about noon.
ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ πηγὴ τοῦ Ἰακώβ. ὁ οὖν Ἰησοῦς κεκοπιακὼς ἐκ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἐκαθέζετο οὕτως ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ· ὥρα ἦν ⸀ὡς ἕκτη.
7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
Ἔρχεται γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας ἀντλῆσαι ὕδωρ. λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Δός μοι πεῖν·
8His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
οἱ γὰρ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπεληλύθεισαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἵνα τροφὰς ἀγοράσωσιν.
9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ ἡ Σαμαρῖτις· Πῶς σὺ Ἰουδαῖος ὢν παρʼ ἐμοῦ πεῖν αἰτεῖς ⸂γυναικὸς Σαμαρίτιδος οὔσης⸃; οὐ γὰρ συγχρῶνται Ἰουδαῖοι Σαμαρίταις.
The Conversation About Living Water
Jesus told the woman about living water that gives eternal life and awakened her spiritual hunger.
10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Εἰ ᾔδεις τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ λέγων σοι· Δός μοι πεῖν, σὺ ἂν ᾔτησας αὐτὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄν σοι ὕδωρ ζῶν.
11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water?
λέγει αὐτῷ ⸂ἡ γυνή⸃· Κύριε, οὔτε ἄντλημα ἔχεις καὶ τὸ φρέαρ ἐστὶν βαθύ· πόθεν οὖν ἔχεις τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν;
12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, with his sons and his livestock?"
μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακώβ, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔπιεν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ;
13Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν·
14but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again. The water I give will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
ὃς δʼ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ ⸀διψήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή· Κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ ⸀διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν.
Revelation of Her Past
Jesus showed prophetic knowledge of her five previous husbands and that she was now living with a man who was not her husband.
16He said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back here."
Λέγει ⸀αὐτῇ· Ὕπαγε φώνησον ⸂τὸν ἄνδρα σου⸃ καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε.
17"I have no husband," the woman answered. Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying you have no husband.
ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν ⸀αὐτῷ· Οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Καλῶς εἶπας ὅτι Ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω·
18You have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true."
πέντε γὰρ ἄνδρας ἔσχες, καὶ νῦν ὃν ἔχεις οὐκ ἔστιν σου ἀνήρ· τοῦτο ἀληθὲς εἴρηκας.
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ γυνή· Κύριε, θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ.
The Conversation About True Worship
Jesus taught the woman that true worship is not about place, but about worshipping the Father in spirit and truth.
20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου ⸂προσκυνεῖν δεῖ⸃.
21Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ⸂Πίστευέ μοι, γύναι⸃, ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα ὅτε οὔτε ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ οὔτε ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις προσκυνήσετε τῷ πατρί.
22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
ὑμεῖς προσκυνεῖτε ὃ οὐκ οἴδατε, ἡμεῖς προσκυνοῦμεν ὃ οἴδαμεν, ὅτι ἡ σωτηρία ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐστίν·
23But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
ἀλλὰ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ πατρὶ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν·
24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
πνεῦμα ὁ θεός, καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν.
Jesus Reveals Himself as the Messiah
When the woman mentioned the Messiah, Jesus declared directly: 'It is I, the one speaking to you.' This was the first time Jesus so clearly revealed his identity.
25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming—he who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us everything."
λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ γυνή· Οἶδα ὅτι Μεσσίας ἔρχεται, ὁ λεγόμενος χριστός· ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐκεῖνος, ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν ⸀ἅπαντα.
26Jesus said to her, "I am he—I who am speaking to you."
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι, ὁ λαλῶν σοι.
The Testimony in the Town
The woman left her water jar and went into the town to tell about Jesus. Her testimony led many Samaritans to believe.
28So the woman left her water jar, went back to the town, and said to the people,
ἀφῆκεν οὖν τὴν ὑδρίαν αὐτῆς ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ λέγει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις·
29"Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
Δεῦτε ἴδετε ἄνθρωπον ὃς εἶπέ μοι πάντα ⸀ὅσα ἐποίησα· μήτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ χριστός;
30They left the town and started toward him.
ἐξῆλθον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἤρχοντο πρὸς αὐτόν.
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony: "He told me everything I ever did."
Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν Σαμαριτῶν διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης ὅτι Εἶπέν μοι πάντα ⸀ἃ ἐποίησα.
40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
ὡς οὖν ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ Σαμαρῖται, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν μεῖναι παρʼ αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ δύο ἡμέρας.
41And many more believed because of his word.
καὶ πολλῷ πλείους ἐπίστευσαν διὰ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ,
42They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."
τῇ τε γυναικὶ ἔλεγον ὅτι Οὐκέτι διὰ τὴν σὴν λαλιὰν πιστεύομεν· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκηκόαμεν, καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ ⸀κόσμου.