2-timothy 2:6

Husbandman - A farmer; one who tills the ground.

The 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, before he can expect that crown of righteousness that fadeth not away.

The 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 (δει 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 "first" is introduced in connection with the word "labour" - "labouring first, must be partaker." That is, it is a great law that the husbandman must work before be receives a harvest. This sense will accord with the purpose of the apostle. It was to remind Timothy that labor must precede reward; that if a man would reap, he must sow; that he could hope for no fruits, unless he toiled for them. The point was not that the husbandman would be the first one who would partake of the fruits; but that he must first labor before he obtained the reward. Thus understood, this would be an encouragement to Timothy to persevere in his toils, looking onward to the reward. The Greek will bear this construction, though it is not the most obvious one.

2:6 Unless he labour first, he will reap no fruit.