4:38a–c

This verse continues the harvest metaphor. It refers to benefiting from someone else’s work. The person who harvests the crop gets the benefit even if he did not plant the seeds. In this metaphor, the disciples were compared to harvesters. Instead of a crop, they would harvest people, meaning that they would convince people to believe in Jesus. They did that although they did not do the work of first explaining about Jesus to those people.

In some languages a metaphor like this is not clearly understood. If this is the case in your language, here are some ways to translate this metaphor:

• Change the metaphor to a simile.

What I sent you to do is like reaping what you have not worked for. Others worked hard and you have received the benefit.

• Keep the metaphor but suggest or indicate the meaning. For example:

I sent you to harvest what you did not work for. Others have worked ⌊to sow spiritual seed⌋ and you have been able to reap the results.

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make the meaning explicit. For example:

⌊These people heard from other people the message about me⌋ . But I sent you to gain the reward from others’ work, like a person who harvests a crop that he did not plant.

4:38a

I sent you to reap what you have not worked for: This sentence indicates that Jesus sent his disciples to gather a harvest that they did not plant. Here is another way to translate this sentence:

I have sent you to reap a harvest in a field where you did not work. (Good News Translation)

4:38b

others have done the hard work: In some languages it is more natural to say explicitly what the hard work was. For example:

Others have done the hard work ⌊of sowing/planting⌋ .

4:38c

and now you have taken up their labor: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you have taken up their labor refers to benefiting or gaining a profit from the work of others. Here is another way to translate this clause:

you profit from their work (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 4:38a–c

In some languages it may be natural to combine the information in this verse. For example:

38a–c I have sent you to harvest crops in fields where other people have done all the hard work.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.