John 4:18

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is 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

16He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 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.” 19“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

John 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 Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
• Genesis 34:2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.
• Numbers 5:29“ ‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and makes herself impure while married to her husband,
• Ruth 4:10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
• Jeremiah 3:20But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord.
• Ezekiel 16:32“ ‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!
• Mark 10:12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
• Romans 7:3So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
• 1 Corinthians 7:10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
• Hebrews 13:4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

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

• Adultery
• Jacob
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Samaria
• Shechem
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Dealing
• Ere
• God
• Hear
• Live
• Meat
• Messiah
• Samaritans
• Spirit
• Truth

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