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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Yhn C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21
Yhn 4 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53
OET (OET-LV) Not you_all are_saying, that Still four_month it_is and the harvest is_coming?
Behold, I_am_saying to_you_all, lift_up the eyes of_you_all and see the fields, because they_are already white toward harvest.
OET (OET-RV) “Don’t you all have a saying about needing to wait four months for a harvest? But I’m telling you that you all should open your eyes and look at the fields, because they’re already lightening up as harvest time approaches.
In this section Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman who had come to get water from a well. Jesus asked her for a drink of water. The woman was surprised that he spoke to her. Jesus was a Jew, and most Jewish people hated the Samaritans. But Jesus stayed and talked with the woman.
Jesus told the woman that he could give her living water, and he told her that he was the Messiah. The women went back to her town and brought many of the other Samaritan people to Jesus.
It is good to translate the section before giving it a title. Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus brought good news to the hated Samaritan people
The conversation at the well
The disciples came to Jesus and suggested that he eat something. Jesus told them that he had food to eat that they did not know about. The disciples wondered if someone else had given him food. But Jesus said that doing what his Father wanted satisfied him more than food. He also told them that the people there were like a field that was ready for them to harvest.
These verses contain an extended metaphor. Jesus was talking about crops and harvest time. However, he wanted his listeners to understand that he was referring to a spiritual harvest. The spiritual harvest was people who were ready to believe in him. The people were like a field at harvest time.
The point of comparison is that the wait for the harvest is over. The people are ready now to believe and enter the kingdom of God. They are like a field that is ready to be harvested. In some languages this metaphor may not be clearly understood. It may be necessary to translate it as a simile and maybe indicate some of the meaning. See the examples in the Display.
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’?
You(plur) know the saying, ‘It is still four months until the harvest,’ do you not?
There is a proverb saying that after a worker plants there are still four months before he cuts the ripe grain.
He quoted this proverb: “You(plur) plant first and then there are still four months before you reap the crop.”
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus knew that this was what people said. They already understood that first you plant and then four months later you reap a harvest (cut the grain). But Jesus wanted the people to think in a different way. He then introduced a new idea.
There are at least two ways to translate this rhetorical question:
Use a rhetorical question:
Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ (NET)
Is it not true that you say that there are still four months and then it is time to harvest?
Use a statement. For example:
You may say that there are still four months until harvest time. (CEV)
There is your saying which says, ‘There are still four months, and then harvest time will arrive.’
Translate this rhetorical question in a way that is most natural in your language.
Do you not say: The pronoun you is plural. It refers to either the disciples or to people in general. What they said was probably a common saying that people in general said. But the disciples probably said it as well.
This sentence contains a quotation inside a quotation. First there is the quotation of what Jesus said. Then Jesus quoted something the disciples or people in general said. This inner quotation was probably a common saying or proverb. You may want to make this explicit. For example:
Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? (NIV)
In some languages it may be natural to translate the inner direct quotation as an indirect quotation. For example:
You say that harvest time is still four months from now.
Here is where the metaphor really begins. (See the Note above on 4:35–38.) To help your readers understand the extended metaphor, see the examples in the Display. Also, here are two other ways to begin this metaphor:
But I tell you to look, and you will see that the fields are already ripe and ready to harvest. The people who are coming are like those fields. They are ready to believe in me.
Look at the people who are coming here. You can compare them to crops that are ripe and ready to be harvested….
I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields,
But I tell you(plur), look at what you can see here.
However, I am telling you(plur) to look around at the people coming here.
“But,” he told them, “It is not like that here/today. Look at the people who are coming to me!
I tell you: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as I tell you is more literally “See I say to you.” (The NRSV and other translations use “But” because there is a contrast with the saying that Jesus mentioned in 4:35a.) Jesus was telling his listeners that it was important to concentrate on what he would say next. For example:
Look, I tell you (ESV)
Listen carefully
you: This pronoun is plural and refers to all the disciples.
lift up your eyes and look at the fields: The Greek clause the BSB translates as lift up your eyes is a figurative way to say “understand this” or “become aware.” It is another way to emphasize that the disciples should pay attention. In some languages it is more natural to say “open your eyes” or “look up.” For example:
look up and see (NET)
open your eyes and look (NIV)
take a good look at the fields (GNT)
fields: Use a word for fields that refers to fields where grain grows. The grain could be barley or wheat, or whatever grain is common in your area.
for they are ripe for harvest.
See(plur) how these people are like fields that are ready to be harvested!
They are like a field ready for reaping.
You can see/notice that they are ready to believe, already ready to be reaped for God like a ripe field.
for they are ripe for harvest: This clause is a metaphor. The people coming to Jesus were like fields or crops at harvest time. The people were ready to believe in Jesus like crops are ready to be harvested when they are ripe. In some languages a metaphor like this is not clearly understood. It may be necessary to suggest the meaning. For example:
see how the people are like fields of grain, ready for the harvest
look at the true/spiritual harvest! It is ready now!
look at these many people. They are like plants that are ready to be harvested because now is the time for them to believe in me.
ripe: The Greek word that the BSB translates as ripe is more literally “white.” It refers to the color of the grain fields when the grain is ready to be harvested. It may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:
they are white and ready for harvest (TLV)
Perhaps the grain in your area is “yellow” or another color when it is ripe. If that is true, you may use that other color instead of “white.”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε, ὅτι ἔτι τετράμηνός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ θερισμὸς ἔρχεται?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνος ἐστίν καί ὁ θερισμός ἔρχεται Ἰδού λέγω ὑμῖν ἐπάρατε τούς ὀφθαλμούς ὑμῶν καί θεάσασθε τάς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσίν πρός θερισμόν ἤδη)
Jesus is using the question form for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [You surely say, ‘There are still four months, and the harvest comes’!]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἰδοὺ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνος ἐστίν καί ὁ θερισμός ἔρχεται Ἰδού λέγω ὑμῖν ἐπάρατε τούς ὀφθαλμούς ὑμῶν καί θεάσασθε τάς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσίν πρός θερισμόν ἤδη)
Jesus using the term Behold to call the disciples’ attention to what he is about to say. Your language may have a similar expression that you can use here.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐπάρατε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν
lift_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνος ἐστίν καί ὁ θερισμός ἔρχεται Ἰδού λέγω ὑμῖν ἐπάρατε τούς ὀφθαλμούς ὑμῶν καί θεάσασθε τάς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσίν πρός θερισμόν ἤδη)
This phrase, lift up your eyes, is a common idiom in the Bible that is used to describe the act of looking at something or direct one’s own attention toward something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent idiom or use plain language. Alternate translation: [look]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
θεάσασθε τὰς χώρας
see (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνος ἐστίν καί ὁ θερισμός ἔρχεται Ἰδού λέγω ὑμῖν ἐπάρατε τούς ὀφθαλμούς ὑμῶν καί θεάσασθε τάς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσίν πρός θερισμόν ἤδη)
Jesus uses the word fields to refer to people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning with a simile or plainly. Alternate translation: [see these people who are like fields] or [see these people]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
λευκαί εἰσιν πρὸς θερισμόν ἤδη
white (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Ἔτι τετράμηνος ἐστίν καί ὁ θερισμός ἔρχεται Ἰδού λέγω ὑμῖν ἐπάρατε τούς ὀφθαλμούς ὑμῶν καί θεάσασθε τάς χώρας ὅτι λευκαί εἰσίν πρός θερισμόν ἤδη)
Jesus uses the phrase white for harvest to say that people are ready to receive the message of Jesus, like fields that are ready to be harvested. If it would be helpful in your language, you could convey the meaning with a simile or do it plainly. Alternate translation: [they are like a field that is ready to be harvested] or [they are already ready to believe my message]
4:35 Four months between planting and harvest: Jesus cited a local parable to contrast the natural harvest with his own. It was harvest time in Samaria, and the fields were ripe. Jesus, however, had planted seed at the well and now was already reaping the harvest of belief among the Samaritans (4:39-42).
OET (OET-LV) Not you_all are_saying, that Still four_month it_is and the harvest is_coming?
Behold, I_am_saying to_you_all, lift_up the eyes of_you_all and see the fields, because they_are already white toward harvest.
OET (OET-RV) “Don’t you all have a saying about needing to wait four months for a harvest? But I’m telling you that you all should open your eyes and look at the fields, because they’re already lightening up as harvest time approaches.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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