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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 4 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53
In this section Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman who had come to get water from a well. Jesus asked her for a drink of water. The woman was surprised that he spoke to her. Jesus was a Jew, and most Jewish people hated the Samaritans. But Jesus stayed and talked with the woman.
Jesus told the woman that he could give her living water, and he told her that he was the Messiah. The women went back to her town and brought many of the other Samaritan people to Jesus.
It is good to translate the section before giving it a title. Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus brought good news to the hated Samaritan people
The conversation at the well
The woman next asked Jesus about where people should worship God. The Samaritans said it was right to worship on Mount Gerizim, but the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. Jesus said that where people worship is not important. It is how they worship that is important.
Jesus also said that the Samaritans really did not know whom they worshiped. The Jewish people knew whom they worshiped, and it was through them that all people will be saved. The woman mentioned the Messiah or Chosen Savior who was coming. Jesus told her that he was the Messiah. This is a very important part of the story.
“Sir,” the woman said,
¶ The woman said to Jesus, “Sir,
Sir: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Sir is more literally “lord.” It is a polite form of address for an important person. See 4:11a.
the woman said: The Greek contains a phrase that the NRSV translates literally as “to him” in order to indicate that Jesus was the one whom the woman was talking to. In some languages it may be natural to that this explicitly. For example:
The woman said to him (NRSV)
“I see that You are a prophet.
I recognize/realize that you(sing) are a prophet.
you(sing) truly must be God’s messenger!
I see that You are a prophet: The woman realized that Jesus was someone important. She thought he was a prophet because he knew things about her that she had not told him.
I see: The word see here means “understand” or “recognize.” The woman realized that Jesus’ knowledge was greater than that of an ordinary human. She believed that God had revealed to Jesus about her five husbands.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
You must be a prophet. (NLT)
prophet: A prophet is a person who speaks as God’s representative. He receives messages from God for people. In this way he may know things that people cannot know naturally.
Here are some ways to translate prophet:
a messenger/representative for God
a man who speaks God’s words
God’s message-speaker
Consider how you will translate words that are similar in meaning, such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”
See how you translated this word in 1:21d. See also prophet 1(a) in KBT.
Place the quote introducer where it is natural in your language. For example:
‘Sir,’ replied the woman, ‘I can see you are a prophet.’ (REB)
“I see you are a prophet, sir,” the woman said. (GNT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / pastforfuture
λέγει
˓is˒_saying
Here John uses the present tense in past narration in order to call attention to a development in the story.
κύριε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγει αὐτῷ Ἡ γυνή Κύριε θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ)
The Samaritan woman calls Jesus Sir in order to show respect or politeness. (See: lord)
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ
˱I˲_˓am˒_perceiving that ˓a˒_prophet are you
The woman uses see to refer to understanding something. If this might confuse your readers, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [I understand that you are a prophet]
4:19 a prophet: Jesus revealed knowledge about the woman (4:16-18) that was inaccessible to the average person (cp. 1:48).
• As the woman’s understanding of Jesus unfolded, her names for him became increasingly well informed. Earlier she recognized him as a Jew (4:9) and called him sir (4:11, 15, 19). Later she thought he might be the Messiah (4:29). Finally, the people of the village recognized him as Savior of the world (4:42). Her growing understanding of Jesus’ identity is a testimony to John’s readers (see 20:31).
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.