John 4 · Verse 18

John 4:18

For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
John 4:18, King James Version

John 4:18 in other translations

BSBIn fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”
WEBfor you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.”
ASVfor thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: this hast thou said truly.
YLTfor five husbands thou hast had, and, now, he whom thou hast is not thy husband; this hast thou said truly.'
DARBYfor thou hast had five husbands, and he whom now thou hast is not thy husband: this thou hast spoken truly.
BBEYou have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband: that was truly said.
WebsterFor thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband: in that thou hast spoken truth.

What does John 4:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 4:15-18

15-18. give me this water, &c.--This is not obtuseness--that is giving way--it expresses a wondering desire after she scarce knew what from this mysterious Stranger.

Read the full comment on John 4:15-18 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 18. Hast had five husbands. Who have either died; or who, on account of your improper conduct, have divorced you; or whom you have left improperly, without legal divorce. Either of these might have been the case.

Is not thy husband. You are not lawfully married to him. Either she might have left a former husband without divorce, and thus her marriage with this man was unlawful, or she was living with him without the form of marriage, in open guilt.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 Thou hast had five husbands - It is not clear that this woman was a prostitute: she might have been legally married to those five, and might have been divorced through some misbehavior of her own, not amounting to adultery; for the adulteress was to be put to death, both by the Jewish and Samaritan law, not divorced: or she might have been cast off through some caprice of her husband; for, in the time of our Lord, divorces were very common among the Jews, so that a man put away his wife for any fault. See the note on Mat 5:31. Some are so very fond of exaggerating that nothing can pass through their hands without an increase: hence Heracleon says she had six husbands, and Jerome modestly gives her twenty-two! Viginti duos habuisti maritos, et ille a quo sepelieris non est tuus. "Thou hast had twenty-two husbands and he by whom thou shalt be buried is not thine." Epist. xi. He whom thou now hast is not thy husband - Νυν ὁν εχεις, ουκ εϚι σου ανηρ. Bishop Pearce would translate this clause in the following manner: There is no husband whom thou now hast - or, less literally, Thou hast no husband now: probably the meaning is, Thou art contracted to another, but not yet brought home: therefore he is not yet thy husband. See Rosenmuller. Bishop Pearce contends that our Lord did not speak these words to her by way of reproof: 1. Because it is not likely that a woman so far advanced in years as to have had five husbands should have now been found living in adultery with a sixth person. 2. Because it is not likely that our Lord would not, in some part of his discourse, have reproved her for her fornication, especially if guilty of it under such gross circumstances. 3. Nor is it likely that a woman of so bad a life should have had so much influence with the people of her city that they should, on her testimony, Joh 4:39-42, believe Jesus to be the Messiah. 4. Nor is it at all likely that when a discovery of her guilt was made to her, by one whom she acknowledged to be a prophet, Joh 4:19, the first thing which came into her thoughts should be the important question in religion, about the place appointed by God for his worship, so warmly contested between the Jews and Samaritans. 5. Nor is it at all probable that a person of such a bad life, without any mentioned sign of repentance, should have been the first (perhaps the only private person) to whom Jesus is recorded as declaring himself to be the Christ, as he does to her, Joh 4:26.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · 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 4:18 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.

πέντεpenteFiveG4002
γὰρgarforG1063
ἄνδραςandrashusbandsG435
ἔσχες,eschesyou have had,G2192
καὶkaiandG2532
νῦνnunnowG3568
ὃνhonhe whomG3739
ἔχειςecheisyou haveG2192
οὐκouknotG3756
ἔστινestinisG1510
σουsouyourG4771
ἀνήρ·anērhusband;G435
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
ἀληθὲςalēthestrulyG227
εἴρηκας.¶eirēkasyou have spoken.G2046

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

Cross references for John 4:18

  • Jeremiah 3:20

    Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

  • Romans 7:3

    So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:10-11

    And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

  • Mark 10:12

    And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

  • Genesis 34:7-8

    And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

  • Genesis 34:31

    And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

  • Genesis 34:2

    And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

  • Ruth 4:10

    Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

  • Genesis 20:3

    But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

  • Numbers 5:29

    This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;

  • Ezekiel 16:32

    But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

  • Hebrews 13:4

    Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
is not.
Ge 20:3; 34:2,7,8,31; Nu 5:29; Ru 4:10; Jer 3:20; Eze 16:32
Mr 10:12; Ro 7:3; 1Co 7:10,11; Heb 13:4

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

Context

  • John 4:17

    The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

  • John 4:18

    For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

  • John 4:19

    The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Read all of John 4

John 4:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque cinco maridos has tenido: y el que ahora tienes no es tu marido; esto has dicho con verdad.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		car tu as eu cinq maris, et celui que tu as maintenant n’est pas ton mari; en cela tu as dit vrai.
German
Elberfelder 1871		denn fünf Männer hast du gehabt, und der, den du jetzt hast, ist nicht dein Mann; hierin hast du wahr geredet.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		quinque enim viros habuisti, et nunc, quem habes, non est tuus vir: hoc vere dixisti.