New International Version
2 Timothy 2:6
6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
2 Timothy 2:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
- English Standard Version (ESV)It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.
Context of 2 Timothy 2:6
4No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 8Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
Read all of 2 Timothy 22 Timothy 2:6 word by word
τὸν κοπιῶντα γεωργὸν δεῖ πρῶτον τῶν καρπῶν μεταλαμβάνειν·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 2 Timothy 2:6
- Isaiah 28:24When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
- Matthew 9:37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
- Matthew 20:1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
- Matthew 21:33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.
- Luke 10:2He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
- John 4:35Don’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.
- 1 Corinthians 3:6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
- 1 Corinthians 9:7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk?
- 1 Corinthians 9:23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
- Hebrews 10:36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Commentaries on 2 Timothy 2:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The husbandman that laboureth - That is: The husbandman must first till his ground before he can expect a crop; and he must till it according to the proper rules of agriculture, else he cannot have a crop. The combatant must fight and conquer, and fight according to the laws of the agones, before he can be crowned; so the Christian minister must labor in the spiritual vineyard, and labor too under the eye and according to the direction of his Master…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The husbandman that laboureth - The margin is, “labouring first, must be partaker.” The idea, according to the translation in the text, is, that there is a fitness or propriety ( dei) that the man who cultivates the earth, should enjoy the fruits of his labor. See the same image explained in the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:10. But if this be the meaning here, it is not easy to see why the apostle introduces it. According to the marginal reading, the word…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-7Paul quickly quotes a series of sayings about hard work, struggle, and reward.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. must be first partaker--The right of first partaking of the fruits belongs to him who is laboring; do not thou, therefore, relax thy labors, as thou wouldest be foremost in partaking of the reward. Conybeare explains "first," before the idler.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Timothy 2:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Timothy 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries