The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. And after[a] coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ So they went. Going out[b] again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and[c] found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ And when[d] evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their[e] wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. 10 And when[f] the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. 11 And when they[g] received it,[h] they began to complain[i] against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ 13 But he answered one of them and[j] said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave[k] to you also. 15 Is it not[l] permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ 16 Thus the last will be first and the first last.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time

17 And as[m] Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him[n] and flog him[o] and crucify him,[p] and on the third day he will be raised.”

A Request by the Mother of James and John

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and[q] kneeling down she asked[r] something from him. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered and[s] said, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine[t] to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

24 And when[u] the ten heard this,[v] they were indignant concerning the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to himself and[w] said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them. 26 It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Two Blind Men Healed at Jericho

29 And as[x] they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they[y] heard that Jesus was passing by, they called out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,[z] Son of David!” 31 And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they called out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,[aa] Son of David!” 32 And Jesus stopped,[ab] called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes be opened!” 34 And having compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 20:2 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“coming to an agreement”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Matthew 20:5 Some manuscripts have “And going out”
  3. Matthew 20:6 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
  4. Matthew 20:8 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”)
  5. Matthew 20:8 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  6. Matthew 20:10 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
  7. Matthew 20:11 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“received”) which is understood as temporal
  8. Matthew 20:11 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  9. Matthew 20:11 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to complain”)
  10. Matthew 20:13 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  11. Matthew 20:14 The words “I gave” are an implied repetition from the verb earlier in the verse
  12. Matthew 20:15 Some manuscripts have “Or is it not”
  13. Matthew 20:17 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was going up”) which is understood as temporal
  14. Matthew 20:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  15. Matthew 20:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  16. Matthew 20:19 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  17. Matthew 20:20 Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“kneeling down”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
  18. Matthew 20:20 Here the participle (“asked”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style
  19. Matthew 20:22 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  20. Matthew 20:23 Some manuscripts have “this is not mine”
  21. Matthew 20:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  22. Matthew 20:24 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  23. Matthew 20:25 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called … to himself”) has been translated as a finite verb
  24. Matthew 20:29 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going out”)
  25. Matthew 20:30 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  26. Matthew 20:30 Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord”
  27. Matthew 20:31 Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord”
  28. Matthew 20:32 *Here the participle (“stopped”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.(A) After agreeing with the workers on one denarius,[a] he sent them into his vineyard for the day. When he went out about nine in the morning,[b] he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. About noon and about three,[c] he went out again and did the same thing. Then about five[d] he went and found others standing around[e] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’

“‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.

“‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them.[f] When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay,(B) starting with the last and ending with the first.’

“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius. 10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each. 11 When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner: 12 ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’(C)

13 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius?(D) 14 Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous[g] because I’m generous?’[h](E)

16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”[i](F)

The Third Prediction of His Death

17 While going up to Jerusalem,(G) Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.(H) 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles(I) to be mocked, flogged,[j] and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”[k]

Suffering and Service

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons.(J) She knelt down to ask him for something.(K) 21 “What do you want?” he asked her.

“Promise,”[l] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”(L)

22 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”[m](M)

“We are able,” they said to him.

23 He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,[n] but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”(N)

24 When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. 26 It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,(O) 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,(P) and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(Q)

Two Blind Men Healed

29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.(R) 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (S)

32 Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

33 “Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.

Footnotes

  1. 20:2 A denarius = one day’s wage, also in vv. 9,10,13
  2. 20:3 Lit about the third hour
  3. 20:5 Lit about the sixth hour and the ninth hour
  4. 20:6 Lit about the eleventh hour, also in v. 9
  5. 20:6 Other mss add doing nothing
  6. 20:7 Other mss add ‘and you’ll get whatever is right.’
  7. 20:15 Lit Is your eye evil; an idiom for jealousy or stinginess
  8. 20:15 Lit good
  9. 20:16 Other mss add “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
  10. 20:19 Or scourged
  11. 20:19 Other mss read will rise again
  12. 20:21 Lit Say
  13. 20:22 Other mss add and (or) to be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized?”
  14. 20:23 Other mss add and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.