Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Parallel Translations
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Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
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Iesus sayde vnto her. Go and call thy husband and come hydder.
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Iesus said vnto her, Go, call thine husband, and come hither.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to John 4:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 4:13 There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
- John 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
- Revelation 2:23 I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
- John 2:24-25 But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
- John 1:42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).
- John 1:47-48 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
- John 4:18 for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 16. Call thy husband. This appears to have no…
16. Call thy husband. This appears to have no connection with the subject; and, indeed, one might suppose that Christ, annoyed and put to shame by the impudence of the woman, changes the discourse. But this is not the case; for when he perceived that jeers and scoffs were her only reply to what he had said, he applied an appropriate remedy to this disease, by striking the woman’s conscience with a conviction of her sin. And it is also a remarkable proof of his compassion that, when the woman was unwilling of her own accord to come to him, he draws her, as it were, against her will. But we ought chiefly to observe what I have mentioned, that they who are utterly careless and almost stupid must be deeply wounded by a conviction of sin; for such persons will regard the doctrine of Christ as a fable, until, being summoned to the judgment-seat of God, they are compelled to dread as a Judge him whom they formerly despised. All who do not scruple to rise against the doctrine of Christ with their scoffing jests must be treated in this manner, that they may be made to feel that they will not pass unpunished. Such too is the obstinacy of many, that they will never listen to Christ until they have been subdued by violence. Whenever then we perceive that the oil of Christ has no flavour, it ought to be mixed with wine, that its taste may begin to be felt. Nay more, this is necessary for all of us; for we are not seriously affected by Christ speaking, unless we have been aroused by repentance. So then, in order that any one may profit in the school of Christ, his hardness must be subdued by the demonstration of his misery, as the earth, in order that it may become fruitful, is prepared and softened by the ploughshare, for this knowledge alone shakes off all our flatteries, so that we no longer dare to mock God. Whenever, therefore, a neglect of the word of God steals upon us, no remedy will be more appropriate than that each of us should arouse himself to the consideration of his sins, that he may be ashamed of himself, and, trembling before the judgment-seat of God, may be humbled to obey Him whom he had wantonly despised.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband,…
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Ver. 16. Go, call thy husband] It was a great favour in Christ to receive that sinful woman that washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, and not to kick her out of his presence, as the Pharisees expected. How much greater is this, to fetch in an idolatrous harlotry that fled from him, to entertain her that had rejected him? &c. Well might St Paul say, that the "grace of our Lord is exceeding abundant," or doth abound to flowing over, as the sea easily overfloweth mole hills, υπερεπλεονασε, 1Ti 1:14.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Not that Christ did not know, what she afterward…
Not that Christ did not know, what she afterward confessed, that she lived in whoredom, and had no legitimate husband; but he said this probably to check her petulancy, and mocking at what he spake about the living water, and to bring her to a sense of her sin, that she might be more fit to receive the glad tidings of a Saviour, which he was about to publish to her; and this seems rather to be our Saviour’s design in bidding her go call her husband, than (as some of the ancients thought) that he might better instruct her, or avoid any scandal to himself, by a longer private discourse with a woman alone, who was of no better reputation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Jesus saith unto her,.... Observing that she continued an…
Jesus saith unto her,.... Observing that she continued an ignorant scoffer at him, and his words, determined to take another method with her; and convince her, that he was not a common and ordinary person she was conversing with, as she took him to be; and also what a sinner she was, and what a vicious course of life she had lived; so that she might see that she stood in need of him, as the gift of God, and Saviour of men; and of the grace he had been speaking of, under the notion of living water: saying to her,
go, call thy husband, and come hither; go directly from hence to the city of Sychar, and call thy husband, and come back hither along with him again: this Christ said, not to have him come to teach and instruct him, and as if he would more readily and easily understand him, and that he might be with her, a partaker of the same grace; but to bring on some further conversation, by which she would understand that he knew her state and condition, and what a course of life she now lived, and so bring her under a conviction of her sin and danger, and need of him and his grace.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Jesus saith to her - He now clears the…
Jesus saith to her - He now clears the way that he might give her a better kind of water than she asked for. Go, call thy husband - He strikes directly at her bosom sin.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. Call thy husband] Our Lord appears to…
Verse 16. Call thy husband] Our Lord appears to have spoken these words for two purposes:
1. To make the woman consider her own state.
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2. To show her that he knew her heart, and the secret actions of her life; and was therefore well qualified to teach her heavenly truths.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 4:16-18. Jesus saith, Go call thy husband —…
Joh 4:16-18. Jesus saith, Go call thy husband — What Christ had said to her concerning his grace and eternal life, he found had made little impression upon her, because she had not been convinced of sin; therefore, waiving the discourse about the living water, he sets himself to awaken her conscience, and proceeds to open the wounds of her depravity and guilt, that she might better understand, and more readily receive, the remedy provided by grace. The woman — Conscious of the sinfulness of the way in which she had lived, but desirous to evade conviction, and thinking to conceal her shame; said, I have no husband — She wished to be thought a maid or a widow; whereas, though she had no husband, she was neither. Jesus said, Thou hast well said — That is, thou hast spoken the truth, in saying, I have no husband; for, I well know, thou hast had five husbands — Doubtless it was not her affliction, the burying of so many husbands, but her sin, that Christ intended to upbraid her with. Either she had forsaken some of her husbands and married others, or by her undutiful, unchaste, or otherwise improper conduct, had provoked them to divorce her; or by indirect means, and contrary to the law, she had divorced them. He whom thou now hast is not thy husband — Either she was never married to him at all; or, which is more probable, one or more of her former husbands were living, so that, in fact, she lived in adultery.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Go call thy husband - We may admire the…
Go call thy husband - We may admire the manner which our Saviour took to lead her to perceive that he was the Christ. His instructions she did not understand. He therefore proceeded to show her that he was acquainted with her life and with her sins. His object, here, was to lead her to consider her own state and sinfulness - a delicate and yet pungent way of making her see that she was a sinner. By showing her, also, that he knew her life, though a stranger to her, he convinced her that he was qualified to teach her the way to heaven, and thus prepared her to admit that he was the Messiah, Joh 4:29.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Call thy husband. Christ begins to shew her that…
Call thy husband. Christ begins to shew her that he knows her life, to make her know him and herself. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain call thy husband--now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience…
call thy husband--now proceeding to arouse her slumbering conscience by laying bare the guilty life she was leading, and by the minute details which that life furnished, not only bringing her sin vividly up before her, but preparing her to receive in His true character that wonderful Stranger to whom her whole life, in its minutest particulars, evidently lay open.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Go, call thy husband—Jesus knew that she had…
16. Go, call thy husband—Jesus knew that she had no living husband, just as God knew that Cain had no living brother. Gen_4:9. A catechiser or teacher puts questions to his pupil, not because he cannot furnish the answer, but because, perhaps, his pupil cannot. See note on Mat_5:31. Jesus by giving this order to her does not for a moment deceive her, making her think he does not know. She sees at the instant that he knows and is touching her guilty point of character.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Go, call thy husband] Not that the man…
16. Go, call thy husband] Not that the man was wanted, either as a concession to Jewish propriety, which forbad a Rabbi to talk with a woman alone, or for any other reason. By a seemingly casual request Christ lays hold of her inner life, convinces her of sin, and leads her to repentance, without which her request, ‘Give me this water,’ could not be granted. The husband who was no husband was the plague-spot where her healing must begin.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Go, call thy husband.—She has asked for this…
(16) Go, call thy husband.—She has asked for this living water. She knows not that the well must first be dug. In the depth of her spirit there is a power of life; but like the source of a spring, it is hidden. Many a hard rock of impenitence was there, and many a layer of every-day transgression, and many a habit once formable as clay, now hard as adamant, and many a deposit of carnal thought which had left nothing but its dregs behind. All this must be dug through before she can have the living water, and this well, too, must be deep. The command, “Go, call thy husband,” is the first stroke breaking up the surface of that fair appearance, and revealing the foulness of the life beneath it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 16-20. (c) The heart-searching issuing in perception of…
Vers. 16-20. (c) The heart-searching issuing in perception of the prophetic rank of Jesus.
Jesussaith unto her, fie, call thy husband, and come hither. Our Lord, by that Divine penetration and thought reading which the evangelist attributes to him (ch. 2), knew exactly what manner of woman this was, and wished to bring her secret sins to the light of her own conscience. The demand touched her heart at its most tender place, and was indeed a partial answer to her prayer, "Give me this water." Conviction of sin is the beginning of the great work of the Paraclete; it will end in full assurance of faith (so Neander, Stier, Tholuck, Luthardt, Weiss, and Edersheim). Numerous have been the explanations of the Saviour"s demand, but none of them so congruous as this: e.g.
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(1) Lucke supposes that Christ would have the husband share in the bounty.
(2) Meyer suggests that the Lord, by proving to her his prophetic glance in a region she could verify, was preparing her for similar confidence in himself in a higher and more momentous region.
(3) Hengstenberg makes it part of his curious, mystical interpretation of the entire narrative, and by "husband" thinks that Jesus meant the true Lord and Husband of the kingdom of God, in contrast to the heathen lordships and polluting idolatries which Samaritans had blended with their Jehovism (of which more in the next verse).
(4) Lange has supposed that Jesus here conforms to law and custom with reference to the superior claim of the husband, and declares that the wife must submit to it in receiving the gift of the kingdom of God; and Godet says, "Jesus did not wish to influence a dependent person without the participation of the man with whom she was united." Jesus surely never waits upon conventionalisms, sabbatic rules, current fashions of any kind; and some deeper reason than this is more than apparent from the startling response.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh_4:16-18
Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
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Whence learn
1. As grace is little known or esteemed of so long as we know not our misery, so, where the offer of mercy doth not persuade, Christ will discover their misery to make them either come quickly to Him, or else resolve on hell; for, therefore, after the former offers had no success, doth He rip up her bosom.
2. Christ is very meek and tender, even in discovering of misery to men, so long as they are not incorrigible, and is willing that they should judge and accuse themselves, that He may deal tenderly with them; therefore doth He so mildly bid her, Go, call thy husband, that He might draw a confession out of her own mouth.
3. It is not every sin whereof natural men are guilty for which they can at first be capable of conviction, for every sin will not be odious to every one in every condition, but there are some sins which only grace, and much grace, and grace in exercise, will see to be sinful; therefore, though she was guilty of many other sins, yet Christ pitcheth only on this sin of gross filthiness as that which would be seen best by her.
4. It is not every sight of sin that will convince the sinner, but Christ must put it home upon the conscience, and discover sin to be marked by His all-searching eye, before it work upon him; for she knew her own condition (and therefore saith, I have no husband, as shifting the matter whereof she supposed Him to be ignorant), but without any sense, till He rip up her bosom and let her say He knew her.
5. Christ will commend a small good under much dross, and particularly He accounts of a true acknowledgment, even of a heinous crime, as a commendable duty. Therefore doth He make so much of her confession, Thou hast well said, thou saidst truly.
6. Christ hath particular knowledge of what sins men are lying in, how hid soever, and particularly He hath an eye upon secret uncleanness; and how loath soever sinners be to be discovered by Christ, yet, where He pleaseth and hath a purpose of mercy, no shirtings will hide them. So much doth this large discovery, after her shifting confession, teach, Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou hast is not thy husband.
7. Such is the pollution of our nature, that lust will be insatiable unless grace curb it. So much appeareth in this woman who, after so many marriages, doth live in uncleanness. (G. Hutcheson.)
The woman answered,… no husband.--These words were an honest and truthful confession, so far as they went. The way in which our Lord received her declaration makes it probable that she did not profess to be a widow, and very likely her dress showed that she was not. In this point of view the honesty of her confession is noteworthy. There is always more hope of one who honestly and bluntly confesses sin than of a smooth-tongued hypocrite. Our Lords commendation of the womans honest confession deserves notice. It teaches us that we should make the best of an ignorant sinners words. An unskilful physician of souls would probably have rebuked the woman sharply for her wickedness, if her words led him to suspect it. Our Lord, on the contrary, says, Thou hast well said. (Bp. Ryle.)
The power of private reproof
John Wesley, having to travel some distance in a stage coach, fell in with a pleasant-tempered, well-informed officer, whose conversation was sprightly and entertaining, but frequently mingled with oaths. When they were about to take the next stage, Mr. Wesley took the officer aside, and, after expressing the pleasure he had enjoyed in his company, told him that he was thereby encouraged to ask from him a very great favour. I would take a pleasure in obliging you, said the officer, and am sure that you will not prefer an unreasonable request. Then, said Mr. Wesley, as we have to travel together some time, I beg that, if I should so far forget myself as to swear, you will kindly reprove me. The officer immediately saw the motive, and, feeling the force of the request, said with a Smile, None but Mr. Wesley could have conceived a reproof in such a manner. (J. Gill.)
Preparation for blessing needful
She has asked for this living water. She knows not that the well must first be dug. In the depth of her spirit there is a power of life; but like the source of a spring, it is hidden. Many a hard rock of impenitence was there, and many a layer of every-day transgression, and many a habit once formable as clay, now hard as adamant, and many a deposit of carnal thought which had left nothing but its dregs behind. All this must be dug through before she can have the living water, and this well, too, must be deep. The command, Go, call thy husband, is the first stroke breaking up the surface of that fair appearance, and revealing the foulness of the life beneath it. (H. W. Watkins, D. D.)
Sin must be confessed before salvation can be obtained
There is no salvation till you confess your sin. There was a man in India who, one evening having nothing else to do, went to play at religion with the parson--as some of you have come here this afternoon. Religion is all verywell, began the officer, but you must admit that there are difficulties--about the miracles, for instance. The chaplain knew his man, and quietly answered him, Yes, there are some things in the Bible not very plain, I admit; but the seventh commandment is very plain. The mans temper rose, and he swung himself out of the tent; but a little later he came back, no longer to raise false difficulties, but to ask how a poor adulterous British officer might be saved. There are men and women here kept from salvation by what kept back this Samaritan woman. Give up that man, give up that woman, if you would be saved. The pitcher must be emptied before it can be filled. (John McNeill.)
Conscience must be aroused
Here He comes home to her conscience; so must all that will do good, striving not so much to please as to profit. The eagle, though she love her young ones dearly, yet she pricketh and beateth them out of their nest; so must preachers drive men out of their nest of pleasure. (J. Trapp.)
A plain word spoken in season
A lad in his teens had his home for a time with a good woman, who made him very comfortable; and when he was leaving her, he asked if there were anything he could do in return for the motherly care she had shown him. Her reply was, Yes, Let the wicked forsake his way, etc. (Isa_55:7). The young mans life had not been at all strikingly vicious, but the above passage of Scripture, thus unexpectedly presented to him, was blessed by the Holy Spirit, and took such hold on his mind that he could not rest till he had sought and found the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
Christs skill in dealing with the conscience
No mariner is more prompt to mark and utilize every breeze, no plant more sensitive to sun and rain, or more skilful to convert the one into colour and the other into sap, than Jesus to observe and adapt Himself to the changes of the hearts of men for their salvation. (G. A. Chadwick, D. D.)
Christ looks into the inner life
The eye of Jesus, which from the throne saw a sinful and saddened world; which saw Nathanael under the fig tree and Zacchaeus up in the sycamore tree; the eye which from the hill-top gazed on doomed Jerusalem, and which now follows both saint and sinner through all their ways; that bright, beautiful, expressive, sleepless, all-seeing eye pierced the veil of deceit which this sinner thought impenetrable, discerned her ways, read her thoughts, and dissected all her motives with more than microscopic distinctness. Then, with the master skill of more than a prophet, Jesus exposed her whole wanton career as by a lightning flash; and fastening upon her existing and current offence as the crown and consummation of all her sins, He seized her conscience. (J. H.Hitchens, D. D.)
We must faithfully apply the truth
A minister was spending a few days in a town, and while there a young man was thrown much in his society. The young man was not a Christian, but learning that the minister intended to preach in the city gaol, asked to be allowed to accompany him. The minister preached to the audience with So much earnestness as to deeply impress the friend who had accompanied him. On their return home the young man said, The men to whom you preached to-day must have been moved. Such preaching cannot fail to influence. Friend, answered the minister, were you influenced? You were not preaching to me, but to your convicts, was quickly answered. I was preaching to you as much as to them. You need the same Saviour as they. The word so faithfully spoken God blessed in bringing this wanderer home to Himself.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 16. Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The…
16. Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman has asked for the water; before she can receive it she must be fully conscious of her sinfulness. Hence Jesus makes a demand that will recall her past life.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain A disconcerting request:
A disconcerting request:
v. 16. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
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v. 17. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband;
v. 18. for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband; in that saidst thou truly.
Jesus, throughout the conversation, showed the true missionary’s skill. He had properly prepared the woman’s mind to listen to Him as to one that might have a message worth listening to, and not mere idle talk to dispense. The next step is to bring her to an understanding of her sin, to a realization of its guilt. To this end Jesus tells the woman to call her husband, her legal spouse. He knew her heart, mind, and circumstances as well as she did, and better. The woman was struck by the question, but answered quite frankly: A husband I have not. This was a truthful answer, but did not go far enough. And therefore Jesus disposes of her doubtful meaning by emphasizing: Well hast thou said, A husband I have not. She had had five husbands, and had left them all in quick succession. The matter of divorces in Palestine at the time of the Lord was fast approaching the condition in which momentary likes or dislikes decided a woman’s choice. This woman was now living with a man without the formality of a marriage ceremony, or at best in a common-law marriage. The Lord told her all this, by His omniscience, for the purpose of making her realize her sinfulness, of making her see the depth to which she had fallen. She must become fully conscious of her guilt against the Sixth Commandment and the entire Law before she would have the proper desire and longing for the riches of Christ’s salvation. Note: It is always thus when the Lord converts a sinner. At first there are only a few faint sparks of penitence, which would be extinguished without the aid of the Holy Ghost. But then He deepens the consciousness of transgression and guilt, in order that the longing for salvation may be instilled by the sweet message of salvation, by the Gospel. Very often the real battle in the heart of a person begins only after the desire for salvation has been felt. Then Satan tries to drive the sinner into despair. It is then that grace must much more abound.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:16-18 Immorality blocked the woman’s understanding. Her marital affairs,…
4:16-18 Immorality blocked the woman’s understanding. Her marital affairs, including having five husbands, underscored her sinful life.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.