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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Jesus speaks with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, having asked her for a drink. Their conversation turns from physical water to the living water he offers, which she has come to draw nearby.
What Does John 4:14 Mean?
John 4:14 records Jesus' promise to a Samaritan woman at a well: whoever drinks the water he gives will never thirst again. Beside an ordinary well, where she had come for ordinary water, Jesus offers something that meets a far deeper thirst than the body's.
Jesus draws a contrast with well water, which satisfies for a while but always leaves a person needing more. The water he gives is different in kind. It "shall never thirst" -- not because desire is dulled, but because the inner emptiness is truly and lastingly satisfied. More than that, this water does not stay still; it becomes "a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The image shifts from drinking to a fountain bubbling up from within, an inner spring that keeps welling up and points toward eternal life. The water Jesus gives takes root inside a person and becomes its own continual source. The word "whosoever" keeps the offer open to everyone, including a woman whom others would have overlooked. To the soul parched by everything that cannot finally satisfy, Jesus offers himself as the spring that never runs dry.
In the Original Language
The Greek "hydor zon" (living water) suggests fresh, flowing, life-giving water. "Hallomenou" (springing up) describes water leaping or bubbling up, and "zoen aionion" means everlasting life.
Cross References
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
- John 7:38
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
- Isaiah 55:1
“And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
- Revelation 21:6
Application
If you have tried to satisfy your deepest longings with things that never last, come to Jesus. The life he gives becomes a spring within you that never runs dry.