Matthew 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 1 Laborers hired into the vineyard. 15 The evil eye. 17 He foretelleth his passion. 20 Zebedee’s sons. 22 The cup. 28 Christ is our minister. 30 Two blind men.
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain [a]householder, which went out at the dawning of the day to hire laborers into his vineyard.
2 And he [b]agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, and sent them into his vineyard.
3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 And said unto them, Go ye also into my vineyard, and whatsoever is right, I will give you: and they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6 And he went about the [c]eleventh hour, and found others standing idle, and said unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7 They said unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He said to them, Go ye also into my vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8 ¶ And when even was come, the master of the vineyard said unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning at the last, till thou come to the first.
9 And they which were hired about the eleventh hour, came and received every man a penny.
10 Now when the first came, they supposed that they should receive more, but they likewise received every man a penny.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the master of the house,
12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 And he answered one of them, saying, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that which is thine own, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, as much as to thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do as I will with mine own? Is thine eye [d]evil, because I am good?
16 (A) So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few chosen.
17 (B)[e]And Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18 [f]Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief Priests, and unto the Scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19 [g]And (C)shall deliver him to the Gentiles, to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him, but the third day he shall rise again.
20 (D)[h]Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wouldest thou? She said to him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one at thy right hand, and the other at thy left hand in thy kingdom.
22 And Jesus answered, and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to [i]drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the [j]baptism that I shall be baptized with? they said to him, We are able.
23 And he said unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and shall be baptized with the baptism, that I am baptized with, but to sit at my right hand, and at my left hand, is [k]not mine to give: but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24 (E)And when the other ten heard this, they disdained at the two brethren.
25 Therefore Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the lords of the Gentiles have [l]domination over them, and they that are great, exercise authority over them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant.
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.
28 (F)Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life for the ransom of many.
29 ¶ (G)[m]And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30 And behold, two blind men, sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried, saying, O Lord, the Son of David, have mercy on us.
31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, O Lord, the Son of David, have mercy on us.
32 Then Jesus stood still, and [n]called them, and said, What will ye that I should do to you?
33 They said to him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34 And Jesus moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.
Footnotes
- Matthew 20:1 God is bound to no man, and therefore he calleth whomsoever and whensoever he listeth. This only every man ought to take heed of, and hereupon bestow his whole endeavor, that he go forward and come to the mark without all stopping or staggering, and not curiously to examine other men’s doings, or the judgments of God.
- Matthew 20:2 Word for word, fell in time: it is a kind of speech taken from song.
- Matthew 20:6 The last hour: for the day was twelve hours long, and the first hour began at the Sun rising.
- Matthew 20:15 Naught, that is, to say, dost thou envy at my goodness towards them? for the Hebrews by an evil eye, meant envy, because such dispositions appear chiefly in the eyes, as above in Matt. 6:23. It is set to answer the word, single, and is taken there for corrupt: for whereas he said there before, verse 22, If thine eye be single, he addeth in verse 23, but if thine eye be wicked, or corrupt, the word being the same in that place, as it is here.
- Matthew 20:17 Christ goeth to the cross necessarily, but yet willingly.
- Matthew 20:18 They that least ought, are the greatest persecutors of Christ.
- Matthew 20:19 The ignomy of the cross, is the sure way to the glory of everlasting life.
- Matthew 20:20 The manner of the heavenly kingdom is quite contrary to the earthly kingdom.
- Matthew 20:22 This is spoken by a figure, taking the cup, for that which is contained in the cup. And again the Hebrews understand by this word, Cup, sometime the manner of punishment which is rendered to sin, as Ps. 11:6, or the joy that is given to the faithful, as Ps. 23:5, and sometime a lot or condition, as Ps. 16:5.
- Matthew 20:22 This is applied to afflictions, as David commonly useth.
- Matthew 20:23 The almightiness of Christ his divinity is not shut out by this, but it showeth the debasing of himself by taking man’s nature upon him.
- Matthew 20:25 Somewhat sharply and roughly.
- Matthew 20:29 Christ by healing these blind men with an only touch, showeth that he is the only light of the world.
- Matthew 20:32 Himself, not by other men’s means.
Matthew 20
New King James Version
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing [a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, [b]and whatever is right you will receive.’
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they [c]complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 (A)Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or (B)is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 (C)So the last will be first, and the first last. (D)For[d] many are called, but few chosen.”
Jesus a Third Time Predicts His Death and Resurrection(E)
17 (F)Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 18 (G)“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, 19 (H)and deliver Him to the Gentiles to (I)mock and to (J)scourge and to (K)crucify. And the third day He will (L)rise again.”
Greatness Is Serving(M)
20 (N)Then the mother of (O)Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine (P)may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink (Q)the cup that I am about to drink, [e]and be baptized with (R)the baptism that I am baptized with?”
They said to Him, “We are able.”
23 So He said to them, (S)“You will indeed drink My cup, [f]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
24 (T)And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet (U)it shall not be so among you; but (V)whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 (W)And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 (X)just as the (Y)Son of Man did not come to be served, (Z)but to serve, and (AA)to give His life a ransom (AB)for many.”
Two Blind Men Receive Their Sight(AC)
29 (AD)Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, (AE)two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, (AF)Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude (AG)warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had (AH)compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
Footnotes
- Matthew 20:6 NU omits idle
- Matthew 20:7 NU omits the rest of v. 7.
- Matthew 20:11 grumbled
- Matthew 20:16 NU omits the rest of v. 16.
- Matthew 20:22 NU omits and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with
- Matthew 20:23 NU omits and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
