# John 4.6

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-05-06 | updated: 2026-05-06 -->

**Book:** [John](/codex/john-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 4. And he must needs pass through Samaria. 5. So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph:
>
> **6. and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.**
>
> 7. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, <span class="rl-speech">Give me to drink.</span> 8. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy food. (John 4:4-8, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 4. He needed to pass through Samaria. 5. So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.
>
> **6. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.**
>
> 7. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, <span class="rl-speech">“Give me a drink.”</span> 8. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. (John 4:4-8, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 4. And he must needs go through Samaria. 5. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
>
> **6. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.**
>
> 7. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, <span class="rl-speech">Give me to drink.</span> 8. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) (John 4:4-8, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 4. and it was behoving him to go through Samaria. 5. He cometh, therefore, to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the place that Jacob gave to Joseph his son;
>
> **6. and there was there a well of Jacob. Jesus therefore having been weary from the journeying, was sitting thus on the well; it was as it were the sixth hour;**
>
> 7. there cometh a woman out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her, <span class="rl-speech">'Give me to drink;'</span> 8. for his disciples were gone away to the city, that they may buy victuals; (John 4:4-8, 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

- [G2424 - Iesous](/codex/g2424-iesous/), *Iesous* (Strong's G2424). Also appears in: [Matthew 1.1](/codex/matthew-1-1/), [Matthew 1.16](/codex/matthew-1-16/), [Matthew 1.18](/codex/matthew-1-18/).

## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Johannine Authorship of the Fourth Gospel](/codex/johannine-authorship-of-the-fourth-gospel/), via [John 4.5-6](/codex/john-4-5-6/)
- [Necessity of the Incarnation](/codex/necessity-of-the-incarnation/)

**Concepts:**

- [Christology](/codex/christology/)
- [Hypostatic Union](/codex/hypostatic-union/)
- [Miaphysitism vs Dyophysitism](/codex/miaphysitism-vs-dyophysitism/)
- [NT Geographical Reliability](/codex/nt-geographical-reliability/)

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