ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

John 4.23

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

ASV (ASV)

"21. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. 22. Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews."

"23. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers."

"24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. 25. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things." (John 4:21-25, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"21. Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. 22. You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews."

"23. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers."

"24. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25. The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes, he who is called Christ. When he has come, he will declare to us all things.”" (John 4:21-25, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"21. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."

"23. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him."

"24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things." (John 4:21-25, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"21. Jesus saith to her, 'Woman, believe me, that there doth come an hour, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father; 22. ye worship what ye have not known; we worship what we have known, because the salvation is of the Jews;"

"23. but, there cometh an hour, and it now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also doth seek such to worship him;"

"24. God [is] a Spirit, and those worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship.' 25. The woman saith to him, 'I have known that Messiah doth come, who is called Christ, when that one may come, he will tell us all things;'" (John 4:21-25, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: John the Apostle (traditionally) / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
  • Audience: later Christian audience (high-Christological emphasis; against early gnosticism)
  • Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Ephesus (composition)
  • Time period: events c. 26-33 AD (3-Passover chronology); composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.