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John 4:31–38

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, k“Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, l“Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, mMy food is nto do the will of him who sent me and oto accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say,There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that pthe fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that qsower and rreaper smay rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, tOne sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap uthat for which you did not labor. Others have labored, vand you have entered into their labor.”

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John 4:31–38 — The New International Version (NIV)

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 My food,” said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying,It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the sayingOne sows and another reaps is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

John 4:31–38 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

John 4:31–38 — New Living Translation (NLT)

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But Jesus replied, I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

34 Then Jesus explained: My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

John 4:31–38 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But He said to them, I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say,There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

John 4:31–38 — New Century Version (NCV)

31 Meanwhile, his followers were begging him, “Teacher, eat something.”

32 But Jesus answered, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 So the followers asked themselves, “Did somebody already bring him food?”

34 Jesus said, “My food is to do what the One who sent me wants me to do and to finish his work. 35 You have a saying, ‘Four more months till harvest.’ But I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields ready for harvest now. 36 Already, the one who harvests is being paid and is gathering crops for eternal life. So the one who plants and the one who harvests celebrate at the same time. 37 Here the saying is true, ‘One person plants, and another harvests.’ 38 I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work on. Others did the work, and you get to finish up their work.”

John 4:31–38 — American Standard Version (ASV)

31 In the mean while the disciples prayed him, saying, Rabbi, eat. 32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not. 33 The disciples therefore said one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work. 35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest. 36 He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 For herein is the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored: others have labored, and ye are entered into their labor.

John 4:31–38 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

31 But meanwhile the disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, eat. 32 But he said to them, I have food to eat which ye do not know. 33 The disciples therefore said to one another, Has any one brought him anything to eat? 34 Jesus says to them, My food is that I should do the will of him that has sent me, and that I should finish his work. 35 Do not ye say, that there are yet four months and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and behold the fields, for they are already white to harvest. 36 He that reaps receives wages and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this is verified the true saying, It is one who sows and another who reaps. 38 I have sent you to reap that on which ye have not laboured; others have laboured, and ye have entered into their labours.

John 4:31–38 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, have something to eat.” 

32 Jesus told them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” 

33 The disciples asked each other, “Did someone bring him something to eat?” 

34 Jesus told them, “My food is to do what the one who sent me wants me to do and to finish the work he has given me. 

35 “Don’t you say, ‘In four more months the harvest will be here’? I’m telling you to look and see that the fields are ready to be harvested. 36 The person who harvests the crop is already getting paid. He is gathering grain for eternal life. So the person who plants the grain and the person who harvests it are happy together. 37 In this respect the saying is true: ‘One person plants, and another person harvests.’ 38 I have sent you to harvest a crop you have not worked for. Other people have done the hard work, and you have followed them in their work.” 

John 4:31–38 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But He said, I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat?”

34 My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,” Jesus told them. 35 Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”

John 4:31–38 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

John 4:31–38 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

31 In the meanwhile the disciples were asking him, saying, “Rabbi, eat something!” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one brought him anything to eat, did they?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is that I do the will of the one who sent me and complete his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months and the harvest comes’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already. 36 The one who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, in order that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘It is one who sows and another who reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have worked, and you have entered into their work.”

John 4:31–38 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

31 His disciples were saying to him, “Rabbi, eat something!”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples asked each other, “Did someone bring him food?”

34 Jesus said, “My food is to do what my Father sent me to do. My food is to finish his work.

35 “You say, ‘Four months more, and then it will be harvest time.’ But I tell you, open your eyes! Look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest right now. 36 Those who gather the crop are already getting paid. They are already harvesting the crop for eternal life. So those who plant and those who gather can now be glad together.

37 “Here is a true saying. ‘One plants and another gathers.’ 38 I sent you to gather what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work. You have gathered the benefits of their work.”

John 4:31–38 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But He said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”

34 Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

35 Do you not say,There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.

36 Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

37 For in this case the saying is true,One sows and another reaps.’

38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”


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