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OET (OET-LV) The god is spirit, and the ones prostrating before_him it_is_fitting in spirit and truth.
to_be_prostrating.
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.
God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
God is a spiritual being, and people who worship him must worship him in a spiritual and true way.”
God is spirit. Therefore, those who worship him must do so from their spirits/hearts and based on the truth.”
This verse repeats some information from 4:23.
God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth: The Greek word that the BSB translates as and after God is Spirit introduces a result. God is spirit and so worshipers must worship in spirit and truth. There is a connection between the nature of God and the way we must worship. Here are some other ways to indicate that connection between the two clauses in this verse:
God is spirit. So the people who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. (ERV)
God is completely inner-being, having no body. Therefore it is necessary to worship him with the inner-being and truth.
God is spiritual, and he has no body. Therefore, all who worship him must worship him not with the body, but with their whole heart/spirit. Also, their worship of him must be true.
Indicate this connection in a way that is natural in your language.
God is Spirit: This clause indicates that God is not visible. He is real, living, and personal, but he is not physical. He has a spiritual nature. And so people must worship him in a spiritual way.
Some cultures may consider invisible beings to be evil. So make sure that the word you use for Spirit can refer to a great being who is holy and loving. In some languages where spirits are evil it may be necessary to indicate that God is good, even though he is spirit. For example:
Our good God is spirit.
A few translations use a capital letter S for Spirit. Some of those translations are following interpretation (2) of “spirit” in 4:23b, which we do not recommend, and use a capital letter there as well. Others seem to use a capital letter because God is the one being described as a spirit. But it may be confusing to use a capital letter here because it could imply that God and the Holy Spirit are the same. However, God is more than the Holy Spirit, so we should use a small s to avoid implying that God was only the Holy Spirit.
His worshipers: These are people who worship or honor God. In some languages it may be more natural to use a verbal phrase than a clause. For example:
those who worship him (NRSV)
must worship Him in spirit and in truth: This phrase is a statement about something that people need to do. People need to worship God in spirit and truth, not merely with external activities.
in spirit and in truth: This is the same phrase that appeared in 4:23b. See the note there for an explanation. You should translate the phrase the same way here and in 4:23b.
ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ
in spirit (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πνεῦμα Ὁ Θεός καί τούς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν ἐν πνεύματι καί ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν)
See how you translated this phrase in the previous verse.
OET (OET-LV) The god is spirit, and the ones prostrating before_him it_is_fitting in spirit and truth.
to_be_prostrating.
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.
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