For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’
Parallel Translations
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For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’
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And herin is the sayinge true that one soweth and another repeth.
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For herein is the saying true, that one soweth, and an other reapeth.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to John 4:37 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Micah 6:15 You will sow, but won’t reap. You will tread the olives, but won’t anoint yourself with oil; and crush grapes, but won’t drink the wine.
- Job 31:8 then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
- Judges 6:3 So it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east came up against them.
- Luke 19:21 for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 37. For in this is the saying true. This…
37. For in this is the saying true. This was a common proverb, by which he showed that many men frequently receive the fruit of the labor of others, though there was this difference, that he who has labored is displeased at seeing the fruit carried away by another, whereas the Apostles have the Prophets for the companions of their joy. And yet it cannot be inferred from this, that the Prophets themselves are witnesses, or are aware, of what is now going on in the Church; for Christ means nothing more than that the Prophets, so long as they lived, taught under the influence of such feelings, that they already rejoiced on account of the fruit which they were not permitted to gather. The comparison which Peter employs (1 Peter 1:12) is not unlike; except that he addresses his exhortation generally to all believers, but Christ here speaks to the disciples alone, and, in their person, to the ministers of the Gospel. By these words he enjoins them to throw their labors into a common stock, so that there may be no wicked envy among them; that those who are first sent to the work ought to be so attentive to the present cultivation as not to envy a greater blessing to those who are afterwards to follow them; and that they who are sent, as it were, to gather the ripe fruit, ought to be employed with equal cheerfulness in their office; for the comparison which is here made between the teachers of the Law and of the Gospel may likewise be applied to the latter, when viewed in reference to each other.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That proverb.
That proverb.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth,…
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Ver. 37. That saying true, &c.] Camerdrius recites the Senary at large.
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Αλλοι μεν σπειρους’, αλλοι δ αυ αμησονται.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain It was a proverbial expression, most commonly used with…
It was a proverbial expression, most commonly used with reference to those who unjustly invaded the rights and possessions of other men; but as applicable unto those who, by the disposing providence of God, rightly inherit the fruit of other men’s labours, as the Jews inherited the land of Canaan; A land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, Jos 24:13. This saying (saith our Saviour) is fulfilled in you.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And herein is that saying true,.... This verifies that…
And herein is that saying true,.... This verifies that proverbial expression so much in use, and which may be applied to different persons and cases:
one soweth, and another reapeth; the prophets sowed, and the apostles reaped.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That saying - A common proverb; One soweth -…
That saying - A common proverb; One soweth - The prophets and Christ; another reapeth - The apostles and succeeding ministers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 37. Herein is that saying true, One soweth,…
Verse 37. Herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.] Or, One is the sower, and another is the reaper. In what respects you, of this business, this proverb is true-One is the sower, c., for I have sent you to reap, to preach my Gospel, and gain converts, where ye have not laboured-have not sown the first seeds of eternal life. Others have laboured-the patriarchs and prophets, and ye are entered into the fruits of their labours. They announced the Messiah who was to come, and the expectation of the people was excited, and they longed for his appearance but they were gathered to their fathers before they could see the fruit of their labour. You are come to tell the people that the kingdom of God is among them, and that God has visited his people.
The proverb which our Lord mentions above was taken from what ordinarily happens in the course of the Divine providence, where one takes a great deal of pains to procure that of which another reaps the benefit. See instances of this proverb, Le 26:16: Ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. Mic 6:15: Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but not anoint thee with the oil. See also Ho 7:9. The Greeks had the same proverb: Αλλοι μεν σπερουσι, αλλοι δ'αν αμησονται. So had the Latins: Aliis leporem excitasti. You have beat the bush, and another has found the hare. See the famous verses of Virgil beginning with, Sic vos non vobis, in which the fowls, the sheep, the bees, and the oxen, are elegantly brought in as illustrations of the propriety of the proverb.
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Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves.
Sic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves.
Sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes.
Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves.
So you, ye birds, of wondrous skill possest,
Not for yourselves construct the curious nest.
So you, ye sheep, who roam the verdant field,
Not for yourselves your snowy fleeces yield,
So you, ye bees, who every flower explore,
Not for yourselves amass the honied store.
So you, ye patient kine, inured to toil,
Not for yourselves subdue the stubborn soil!
Bishop Pearce gives this text a remarkable turn. The verse he translates thus: I sent you away, that ye might reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour; i.e. I did not send you to the city (Joh 4:8) for this purpose only, that ye might buy meat; but I sent you away chiefly with this intent, that there might be a harvest for you to reap upon your return; though you sowed no seed, and bestowed no labour for that purpose. While you were gone, I sowed spiritual seed in the heart of a Samaritan woman; and she is gone, and is about to return with many of her city, whom she has brought to believe, (Joh 4:39-42.) These, and the many more which will believe upon hearing my doctrine, (Joh 4:41,) will all be a harvest arising out of the seed which I sowed in your absence, and on which, therefore, ye bestowed no labour. He farther adds, that the Greek θεριζειν, stands for του θεριζειν, and such expressions are often used to signify, not the end and design, but the event only. Pearce's Comment.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 4:37-38. Herein is that saying true — That…
Joh 4:37-38. Herein is that saying true — That common proverb; One soweth and another reapeth — He alludes to what often happens, namely, that after he has sown his field, a man dies before he gathers in the harvest, and so leaves it to another, who enjoys the advantage of his pains. But the application which our Lord makes of this proverb here, does not imply any discontent in the persons who sow without reaping, as it seems to do in common uses; for the sower and the reaper are represented as rejoicing together in the rewards of their spiritual husbandry. I sent you to reap that — The fruit of that; whereon ye bestowed no labour — No labour of tilling or sowing the ground. Other men laboured — Namely, the ancient prophets, in sowing the seeds of piety and virtue among the Jews, and thereby exposed themselves to great hardships, persecutions, and sufferings. And ye are entered into their labours — Ye are employed to reap the fruit of that seed which they with great difficulty sowed, for ye are gathering into the kingdom of God, into the gospel church here, and into the kingdom of glory hereafter, those who, by the writings of the prophets, having been endued with a sense of religion, are prepared for entering into it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain That saying - That proverb. This proverb is found…
That saying - That proverb. This proverb is found in some of the Greek writers (Grotius). Similar proverbs were in use among the Jews. See Isa 65:21-22; Lev 26:16; Mic 6:15.
One soweth ... - One man may preach the gospel, and with little apparent effect; another, succeeding him, may be crowned with eminent success. The seed, long buried, may spring up in an abundant harvest.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 37. One soweth—Many a sower does not see the…
37. One soweth—Many a sower does not see the harvest. Many a writer, preacher, advocate for truth, implants the doctrine, but never sees it spring up into glorious revival and salvation. Many a such revival has been prepared by a weeping and perhaps discouraged predecessor.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 37. And herein is that saying true] Rather, For…
37. And herein is that saying true] Rather, For herein is the saying (proved) true, i.e. is shewn to be the genuine proverb capable of realisation, not a mere empty phrase. ‘True’ is opposed to ‘unreal’ not to ‘lying.’ See on Joh_4:23, Joh_1:9 and Joh_7:28. ‘Herein’ refers to what precedes: comp. Joh_15:8 and ‘by this’ which represents the same Greek in Joh_16:30.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (37) Herein is that saying true—i.e., in the deeper…
(37) Herein is that saying true—i.e., in the deeper sense of the word true (comp. Note on Joh_1:9)—has its realisation; is ideally true. The proverb itself was known both to the Greeks and to the Romans (sec examples in Schottgen and Lampe), but the reference is probably to the Old Testament Scriptures. Those who heard it would certainly think of such passages as Deu_6:11, or Isa_65:21-22. The saying expressed something of the bitterness of human disappointment, which in darker moments all men have felt. They have sown in hopes and plans and works, which have never sprung above the surface, or have been reaped in their results by other men; or they themselves have passed away before the harvest has come. This is as men see it, but this is not the ideal truth. The saying is realised in the relation between sower and reaper, which was true then, and holds true of every sower who really sows the good seed. He, too, has a daily work and a daily sustenance in the will of Him that sent him. In the inner consciousness of that work being done, and the hope of its completion, he has food no less real than that of him who reaps the harvest. That he stands alone is the result of his rising above his generation; that he is little understood, or rewarded, by those for whom he works, will be a disappointment to his friends, but, in his truest thoughts, not to himself. His satisfaction will be hard for men to understand. “Surely no one has brought him to eat!” “I have food to eat that ye know not of.” Men smile at this as sentiment or enthusiasm, but this food has been the strength of the best lives, and noblest deeds, of humanity.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For herein in this harvest field, already whitening before…
For herein in this harvest field, already whitening before your eyesis the word veritably realized it finds an ideal illustration of its meaningOne is the sower, and another is the reaper. It belongs to all common experience in such things; the first stone is laid by one, the topstone by another. The toil and tears of the sower with the precious seed are often the reason why another returns with joy, bringing his sheaves with him. It is an all-but universal law. Children inherit the toil of their fathers. We all stand where the shoulders of the mighty dead have lifted us. Still, though one be the sower and another is the reaper in this Samaritan field, yet, since "already" the reaper is busy with the sickle, the sower and reapers may rejoice together. The law will be established on a grander scale by and by, when the great Sower, who is the Lord of the harvest, shall send forth all his reapers to their great enterprise, and he and they will rejoice together.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 37. One soweth, and another reapeth. This was a…
37. One soweth, and another reapeth. This was a common proverb, growing out of constant human experience, true of worldly and spiritual things. How often has the patient pastor sowed, and then the evangelist has reaped in a meeting the results!
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus continues speaking to his disciples.
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One sows, and another harvests
The words "sows" and "harvests" are metaphors. The one who "sows" shares the message of Jesus. The one who "harvests" helps the people to receive the message of Jesus. AT: "One person plants the seeds, and another person harvests the crops" (See: Metaphor)
you have entered into their labor
"you are now joining in their work"
translationWords
true
harvest
labor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.