This verse begins in Greek with a strangely emphatic “you also be subject to such people.” This suggests that Stephanas and his family had served God’s people in places other than Corinth, or at least that they had served other Christians than those to whom this letter was addressed. We do not know for sure. Most translations ignore the emphasis, but New Jerusalem Bible makes sense of it by translating “I ask you in turn to put yourselves at the service of people like this.”

I urge you: in Greek this clause stands at the beginning of verse 15.

Be subject to means “follow the leadership of” (Good News Bible), or “be submissive to,” or “obey.”

Such men: “such people” (Good News Bible) is a better translation. It is very likely that Stephanas’ family included women.

The participles translated worker and laborer refer to “those who work.” The second participle implies hard work. The first participle includes a prefix meaning “with,” but there is nothing to indicate whether it means “work with them,” that is, with Stephanas and his family, or “work with me,” that is, Paul. All translations consulted agree with Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible to leave the matter vague, applying to fellow workers in general.

This verse may also be rendered as “… to obey leaders such as these people, and any other person who works with them.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .