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ParallelVerse 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 Intro 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 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) And many people of Shomron came out of that town and believed that Yeshua is God because the woman had told them that he knew everything about her.![]()
OET-LV And many of_the Samareitaʸs/(Shomrōn) out_of of_ the that _city, believed on him, because_of the message of_the woman testifying, that He_told to_me all things whatever I_did.
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SR-GNT Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης, πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν, διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης, ὅτι “Εἶπέν μοι πάντα ἃ ἐποίησα.” ‡
(Ek de taʸs poleōs ekeinaʸs, polloi episteusan eis auton tōn Samareitōn, dia ton logon taʸs gunaikos marturousaʸs, hoti “Eipen moi panta ha epoiaʸsa.”)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT Now many of the Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the report of the woman, testifying, “He told me all things that I have done.”
UST Now many Samaritans who lived in the city of Sychar trusted in Jesus because of what the woman had told them. She said, “He told me so many things that I have done.”
BSB Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
MSB Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
BLB And out of that city, many of the Samaritans believed in Him, because of the word of the woman testifying, "He told me all things I ever did."
AICNT But from that city many of the Samaritans believed [in him][fn] because of the woman's testimony, saying, “He told me everything [I have ever done].”[fn]
4:39, in him: Absent from some manuscripts. ℵ(01) Latin(a e)
4:39, I have ever done Absent from some manuscripts. 𝔓66
OEB Many from that town came to believe in Jesus – Samaritans though they were – because the woman had said, “He has told me everything that I have done.”
LSB From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, “He told me all the things that I have done.”
WEBBE From that city many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman, who testified, “He told me everything that I have done.”
WMBB (Same as above)
NET Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”
LSV And many from that city believed in Him, of the Samaritans, because of the word of the woman testifying, “He told me all things—as many as I did.”
FBV Many Samaritans from that town trusted in him because of what the woman said: “He told me everything I ever did.”
TCNT Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman's testimony: “He told me everything I have ever done.”
T4T Many of the Samaria district people who lived in that town believed that Jesus was the Messiah because they heard what that woman said about Jesus, “That man was able to tell me all about my past life [HYP]!”
LEB ¶ Now from that town many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything that I have done.”
BBE Now a number of the people of that town had faith in him because of the woman's witness: He has been talking to me of everything I ever did.
Moff Now many Samaritans belonging to that town believed in him on account of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
Wymth Of the Samaritan population of that town a good many believed in Him because of the woman's statement when she declared, "He has told me all that I have ever done."
ASV And from that city many of the Samaritans believed on him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He told me all things that ever I did.
DRA Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things whatsoever I have done.
YLT And from that city many believed in him, of the Samaritans, because of the word of the woman testifying, — 'He told me all things — as many as I did.'
Drby But many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him because of the word of the woman who bore witness, He told me all things that I had ever done.
RV And from that city many of the Samaritans believed on him because of the word of the woman, who testified, He told me all things that ever I did.
SLT And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him for the woman’s word testifying, That he told me all which I ever did.
Wbstr And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, who testified, He told me all that ever I did.
KJB-1769 ¶ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
KJB-1611 ¶ And many of the Samaritanes of that citie beleeued on him, for the saying of the woman, which testified, Hee told me all that euer I did.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps Many of the Samaritanes of that citie beleued on hym, for the saying of the woman, which testified that he tolde her all that euer she dyd.
(Many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him, for the saying of the woman, which testified that he told her all that ever she dyd.)
Gnva Nowe many of the Samaritans of that citie beleeued in him, for the saying of the woman which testified, He hath tolde me all things that euer I did.
(Now many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him, for the saying of the woman which testified, He hath/has told me all things that ever I did. )
Cvdl Many Samaritans of the same cite beleued on him, for the sayenge of the woman, which testified: He hath tolde me all that euer I dyd.
(Many Samaritans of the same cite believed on him, for the saying of the woman, which testified: He hath/has told me all that ever I dyd.)
TNT Many of the Samaritas of that cyte beleved on him for the sayinge of the woman which testified: he tolde me all thinges that ever I dyd.
(Many of the Samaritas of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified: he told me all things that ever I dyd. )
Wycl And of that citee many Samaritans bileueden in hym, for the word of the womman, that bare witnessyng, That he seide to me alle thingis that Y haue don.
(And of that city many Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman, that bare witnessing, That he said to me all things that I have done.)
Luth Es glaubten aber an ihn viel der Samariter aus derselbigen Stadt um des Weibes Rede willen, welches da zeugete: Er hat mir gesagt alles, was ich getan habe.
(It believed but at/to him/it many the/of_the Samariter out_of the_same city around/by/for the woman speech will, which there fathered: He has to_me said all/everything, what/which I did have.)
ClVg Ex civitate autem illa multi crediderunt in eum Samaritanorum, propter verbum mulieris testimonium perhibentis: Quia dixit mihi omnia quæcumque feci.
(From city however that many they_believed in/into/on him Samaritanorum, because the_word/saying woman's testimony perhibentis: Because he/she_said to_me everything whatever I_did. )
UGNT ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης, πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν, διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης, ὅτι εἶπέν μοι πάντα ἃ ἐποίησα.
(ek de taʸs poleōs ekeinaʸs, polloi episteusan eis auton tōn Samareitōn, dia ton logon taʸs gunaikos marturousaʸs, hoti eipen moi panta ha epoiaʸsa.)
SBL-GNT Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν Σαμαριτῶν διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης ὅτι Εἶπέν μοι πάντα ⸀ἃ ἐποίησα.
(Ek de taʸs poleōs ekeinaʸs polloi episteusan eis auton tōn Samaritōn dia ton logon taʸs gunaikos marturousaʸs hoti Eipen moi panta ⸀ha epoiaʸsa.)
RP-GNT Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης ὅτι Εἶπέν μοι πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησα.
(Ek de taʸs poleōs ekeinaʸs polloi episteusan eis auton tōn Samareitōn dia ton logon taʸs gunaikos marturousaʸs hoti Eipen moi panta hosa epoiaʸsa.)
TC-GNT Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν τῶν [fn]Σαμαρειτῶν διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γυναικὸς μαρτυρούσης ὅτι Εἶπέ μοι πάντα [fn]ὅσα ἐποίησα.
(Ek de taʸs poleōs ekeinaʸs polloi episteusan eis auton tōn Samareitōn dia ton logon taʸs gunaikos marturousaʸs hoti Eipe moi panta hosa epoiaʸsa. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
4:1-42 At a historic well in Samaria, Jesus offered himself as living water. Jesus engaged and confronted people with the revelation of God, and they either followed or fell away.
• The Samaritan woman contrasted with Nicodemus at every turn: a woman (not a man), a Samaritan (not a Jew), a sinner (not righteous), and an outcast (not one of Israel’s rabbis). While Nicodemus fell silent and never responded to Jesus’ challenges (3:1-21), this woman acknowledged Jesus as Lord, remained in the light, and exhibited signs of discipleship (see 1:35-51).
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 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.
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus
¶ Many Samaritan people from that town believed in Jesus
¶ Many of the people from that town in Samaria believed in Jesus
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.
A lot of Samaritans in that town put their faith in Jesus. (CEV)
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 (CEV)
trusted in him
because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
because the woman had testified, “He told me all about my past/life.”
because the woman told the people that Jesus told her all her past deeds.
because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”: The Greek word that the BSB 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!” (NLT)
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 BSB 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 (CEV)
because of the report of the woman who testified (NET)
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!
There was nothing from my past that he could not tell me!
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.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐκ & τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης
out_of & ¬the ˱of˲_city that
Here, that city refers to the Samaritan city of Sychar. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [from Sychar]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
εἶπέν μοι πάντα ἃ ἐποίησα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐκ Δέ τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης πολλοί ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν διά τόν λόγον τῆς γυναικός μαρτυρούσης ὅτι Εἶπεν μοί παντᾶ ἅ ἐποίησα)
Here, all things is an exaggeration. The woman was impressed by how much Jesus knew about her. If this might confuse your readers, you could use an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [He told me many things that I have done]

John 4
As the story of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman demonstrates, even simple geography–the divine arrangement of places where God leads us in life–can position us for fruitful ministry if we are willing to reach out to those along our journey. This episode in Jesus’ ministry occurred immediately after Jesus had cleared the Temple in Jerusalem and was gaining even more followers than John the Baptist (John 2:13-25; 4:1-3). Likely wanting to avoid a direct clash with Jewish leadership so early in his ministry, Jesus chose instead to return to Galilee. The most direct route from Jerusalem to Galilee passed through Samaria, and, as the Jewish historian Josephus notes, this was the route normally chosen by most Jews at the time (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XX:6). The city of Samaria (renamed Sebaste by Jesus’ time) was originally the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, but in 722 B.C. the Assyrians exiled many Israelites to other parts of their empire and relocated other foreign peoples in Israel (2 Kings 15:29; 17:1-24; 1 Chronicles 5:26; also see “Israelites Are Exiled to Assyria”). This diverse population then developed a new religion that mixed elements of Israelite worship with pagan worship (2 Kings 17:24-41), and centuries later they set up their own temple on Mount Gerizim. Because of their mixed ancestry and religion, Samaritans were often detested by many Jews (John 4:9), and hostilities periodically erupted between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus himself would later be refused entry into Samaria while traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem (Luke 9:52-56; also see “Jesus’ Final Journey to Jerusalem”), and Josephus notes that about 20 years after this time a number of Galileans were killed by Samaritans as they attempted to make their way to Jerusalem through the village of Ginae. Probably because of these hostilities, some Jews preferred to take alternate routes that bypassed Samaria. Still other Jews chose these routes to avoid even associating with Samaritans. Jesus, however, appears to have chosen the more direct route through Samaria, which led him to the village of Sychar–right next to the ancient site of Shechem and Mount Gerizim. There he met a Samaritan woman by a well and spoke to her about God’s gift of living water for her soul. He also revealed supernatural knowledge about her, so she asked him whether Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem was the proper place to worship. Jesus gently rebuked her belief in Samaritan worship practices, but he also assured her that one day the physical location of worshipers will no longer matter. Instead, all true believers will worship God in spirit and truth. When Jesus revealed to the woman that he was the Messiah, she left her water jar and told the townspeople about Jesus. Meanwhile, Jesus’ disciples returned, and Jesus urged them to recognize that the fields were ripe for harvesting, presumably meaning that many Samaritans were ready to believe in him. Because of the Samaritan woman’s testimony, many of the townspeople believed in Jesus and persuaded him to stay there two more days before returning to Galilee. Years later the apostle Philip found fruitful ministry among the Samaritans as well, and many came to faith in Jesus (Acts 8:5-13; also see “The Ministries of Philip and Peter”).