Daily Reader's Bible - Flipbook - Page 12
from the long walk, sat wearily
beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman
came to draw water, and Jesus
said to her, “Please give me a
drink.” He was alone at the time
because his disciples had gone
into the village to buy some food.
The woman was surprised,
for Jews refuse to have anything
to do with Samaritans. She said
to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I
am a Samaritan woman. Why
are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus replied, “If you only
knew the gift God has for you
and who you are speaking
to, you would ask me, and I
would give you living water.”
“But sir, you don’t have a rope
or a bucket,” she said, “and this
well is very deep. Where would
you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater
than our ancestor Jacob, who
gave us this well? How can you
offer better water than he and his
sons and his animals enjoyed?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who
drinks this water will soon
become thirsty again. But
those who drink the water
I give will never be thirsty
again. It becomes a fresh,
bubbling spring within them,
giving them eternal life.”
“Please, sir,” the woman
said, “give me this water!
Then I’ll never be thirsty
again, and I won’t have to
come here to get water.”
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
“I don’t have a husband,”
the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You
don’t have a husband— 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!”
“Sir,” the woman said,
“you must be a prophet. So
tell me, why is it that you Jews
insist that Jerusalem is the
only place of worship, while
we Samaritans claim it is here
at Mount Gerizim, where our
ancestors worshiped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me,
dear woman, the time is coming
when it will no longer matter
whether you worship the Father
on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know
very little about the one you
worship, while we Jews know all
about him, for salvation comes
through the Jews. But the time
is coming—indeed it’s here
now—when true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit
and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship
him that way. For God is Spirit,
so those who worship him must
worship in spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know
the Messiah is coming—the
one who is called Christ.
When he comes, he will
explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus told her, “I AM
the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came
back. They were shocked to
I AM COMING TO LIVE AMONG YOU
The LORD says, “Come away! Flee from Babylon
in the land of the north, for I have scattered you
to the four winds. Come away, people of Zion,
you who are exiled in Babylon!”
After a period of glory, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me against the nations who
plundered you. For he said, “Anyone who harms
you harms my most precious possession. I
will raise my fist to crush them, and their own
slaves will plunder them.” Then you will know
that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
find him talking to a woman,
but none of them had the nerve
to ask, “What do you want
with her?” or “Why are you
talking to her?” The woman
left her water jar beside the
well and ran back to the village,
telling everyone, “Come
and see a man who told me
everything I ever did! Could he
possibly be the Messiah?” So
the people came streaming
from the village to see him.
Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus,
“Rabbi, eat something.”
But Jesus replied, “I
have a kind of food you
know nothing about.”
“Did someone bring him
food while we were gone?” the
disciples asked each other.
Then Jesus explained:
“My nourishment comes from
doing the will of God, who
sent me, and from finishing his
work. You know the saying,
‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say,
wake up and look around.
The fields are already ripe for
harvest. The harvesters are
paid good wages, and the
fruit they harvest is people
brought to eternal life. What
joy awaits both the planter and
the harvester alike! You know
the saying, ‘One plants and
another harvests.’ And it’s true. I
sent you to harvest where you
didn’t plant; others had already
done the work, and now you
will get to gather the harvest.”
[ZECHARIAH 2:6–4:14]
The LORD says, “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among
you. Many nations will join themselves to
the LORD on that day, and they, too, will be my
people. I will live among you, and you will know
that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me to
you. The land of Judah will be the LORD’s special
possession in the holy land, and he will once
again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. Be
silent before the LORD, all humanity, for he is
springing into action from his holy dwelling.”
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