English Standard Version
John 4:18
18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."
John 4:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
- New International Version (NIV)The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
Context of John 4:18
16Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." 19The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."
Read all of John 4John 4:18 word by word
πέντε γὰρ ἄνδρας ἔσχες, καὶ νῦν ὃν ἔχεις οὐκ ἔστιν σου ἀνήρ· τοῦτο ἀληθὲς εἴρηκας.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- thou hast hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- fiveπέντεpente · fiveG4002
- husbandsἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- he whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- notοὐou · noG3756
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- in thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- saidst thouἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- trulyἀληθήςalēthēs · trueG227
Cross-references for John 4:18
- Genesis 20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife."
- Genesis 34:2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.
- Numbers 5:29"This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
- Ruth 4:10Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day."
- Jeremiah 3:20Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.'"
- Ezekiel 16:32Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!
- Mark 10:12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
- Romans 7:3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
- 1 Corinthians 7:10To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband
- Hebrews 13:4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Commentaries on John 4:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Thou 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Hast 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 be. en 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.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-26Verses 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 us, submitted to it. Also…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18The woman’s immoral life affected her understanding. Her pattern of broken relationships kept her from seeing clearly. She had been married five times. She was also living with a man who was not her husband. These facts show that her life did not match God’s will. Her sin created a barrier between her and a full understanding of what Jesus was saying.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1815-18. 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 comment
Topics related to John 4:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries