In the Greek sentence the pronoun I comes first in the sentence, indicating strong emphasis.

A harvest in a field where translates a Greek relative pronoun rendered by Moffatt and New English Bible as “a crop for which.” In the second clause the adverb there is supplied by Good News Translation because of the manner of translating the first half of the verse (in a field where).

A difficulty is presented by the expression where you did not work, since to reap a harvest certainly constitutes work. However, the reference is to the earlier work involved in preparing the ground and planting the seed. This difference in time or activity must be made explicit in some languages, for example, “I have sent you to harvest in a field where you did not previously work” or “… where you did not yourselves prepare the ground” or “… where you did not at an earlier time plow the ground.”

You profit from their work is the meaning of the Greek expression rendered literally in Revised Standard Version: “you have entered into their labor.” Moffatt has “you reap the profit of their toil”; New American Bible “you have come into their gain”; Jerusalem Bible “you have come into the rewards of their trouble”; and New English Bible “come in for the harvest of their toil.” In some languages “profiting from someone else’s work” may be expressed as “you have an advantage because of what others have already worked hard to do” or “you are better off because of what they did” or “you have gained because they worked hard.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .