John 4 · Verse 13

John 4:13

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
John 4:13, King James Version

John 4:13 in other translations

BSBJesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.
WEBJesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again,
ASVJesus answered and said unto her, Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
YLTJesus answered and said to her, ‘Every one who is drinking of this water shall thirst again;
DARBYJesus answered and said to her, Every one who drinks of this water shall thirst again;
BBEJesus said to her, Everyone who takes this water will be in need of it again:
WebsterJesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again:

What does John 4:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 4:13-14
13-14. thirst again ... never thirst, &c.--The contrast here is fundamental and all comprehensive. "This water" plainly means "this natural water and all satisfactions of a like earthly and perishable nature." Coming to us from without, and reaching only the superficial parts of our nature, they are soon spent, and need to be anew supplied as much as if we had never experienced them before, while the deeper wants of our being are not reached by them at all; whereas the "water" that Christ gives--spiritual life--is struck out of the very depths of our being, making the soul not a cistern, for holding water poured into it from without, but a fountain (the word had been better so rendered, to distinguish it from the word rendered "well" in Joh 4:11), springing, gushing, bubbling up and flowing forth within us, ever fresh, ever living. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Christ is the secret of this life with all its enduring energies and satisfactions, as is expressly said (Joh 7:37-39). "Never thirsting," then, means simply that such souls have the supplies at home. into everlasting life--carrying the thoughts up from the eternal freshness and vitality of these waters to the great ocean in which they have their confluence. "Thither may I arrive!" [Bengel].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 13. Shall thirst again. Jesus did not directly answer her question, or say that he was greater than Jacob, but he gave her an answer by which she might infer that he was. He did not despise or undervalue Jacob or his gifts; but, however great might be the value of that well, the water could not altogether remove thirst.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 4:4-26

There was great hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. Christ's road from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria. We should not go into places of temptation but when we needs must; and then must not dwell in them, but hasten through them. We have here our Lord Jesus under the common fatigue of travellers. Thus we see that he was truly a man. Toil came in with sin; therefore Christ, having made himself a curse for…

Read the full comment on John 4:4-26 →

John 4:13 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἈπεκρίθηApekrithēAnsweredG611
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
καὶkaiandG2532
εἶπενeipensaidG2036
αὐτῇ·autēato her;G846
πᾶςpasEveryoneG3956
ὁhowhoG3588
πίνωνpinōnis drinkingG4095
ἐκekofG1537
τοῦtou<the>G3588
ὕδατοςhudatoswaterG5204
τούτουtoutouthisG3778
διψήσειdipsēseiwill thirstG1372
πάλιν.palinagain.G3825

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 4:13

  • John 6:27

    Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

  • Isaiah 65:13-14

    Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

  • Luke 16:24

    And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Whosoever.
6:27,49; Isa 65:13,14; Lu 16:24

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 4:12

    Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

  • John 4:13

    Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

  • John 4:14

    But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Read all of John 4

John 4:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Respondió Jesús y díjole: Cualquiera que bebiere de esta agua, volverá á tener sed;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Jésus répondit et lui dit: Quiconque boit de cette eau-ci aura de nouveau soif;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihr: Jeden, der von diesem Wasser trinkt, wird wiederum dürsten;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac, sitiet iterum; qui autem biberit ex aqua quam ego dabo ei, non sitiet in æternum: