10. Respondit Iesus, et dixit 10. Jesus answered and said to ei: Si scires donum Dei, et her: If thou didst know the quis est qui dicit tibi, Da gift of God, and who he is mihi bibere; tu forsitan that saith to thee, Give me to petisses ab eo, et dedisset drink; thou perhaps wouldst tibi aquam vivam. have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 10. *The gift of God* is not the Holy Ghost, nor Christ Himself, nor the opportunity now offered her, but most probably the gift of grace, the “living water” spoken of in the end of the verse. Hence Christ’s words mean: If you knew that there is a spiritual water which slakes the thirst of man in the desert of this world, and that He who can bestow it speaks to you, *thou perhaps wouldst have asked*, &c. *Perhaps* (_forsitan_) is not represented in the Greek, in which we have an ordinary conditional sentence; and certainly Christ knew without doubt what would have been the result. The Vulgate translator, probably added “forsitan” to indicate that she would still be _free_ to reject the grace offered. *Living water.* There is the same diversity of opinion here as in regard to the “gift of God,” with the addition that some have held the reference here to be to the waters of baptism. We take it that the reference again is to grace. Living water properly signifies _running water_, in opposition to the stagnant water of pools or cisterns. Here, however the words seem to be used in their highest sense, of waters which come from God and bestow _life_ upon all who drink of them. 11. Dicit ei mulier: Domine, 11. The woman saith to him: neque in quo haurias habes, et Sir, thou hast nothing wherein puteus altus est: unde ergo to draw, and the well is deep: habes aquam vivam? from whence then hast thou living water? 12. Numquid tu maior es patre 12. Art thou greater than our nostro Iacob, qui dedit nobis father Jacob, who gave us the puteum, et ipse ex eo bibit, well, and drank thereof et filii eius, et pecora eius? himself, and his children, and his cattle?