Matthew 19:14-20:23

English Standard Version

¹⁴ but Jesus said, ^(A)“Let the little children ^(B)come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

^16 (C)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^(D)have ^(E)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^(F)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(G)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, ^(H)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, ^(I)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^(J)perfect, go, ^(K)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(L)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22 (M)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^(N)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24 (O)Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(P)the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus ^(Q)looked at them and said, ^(R)“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷ Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^(S)we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,^{[a] (T)}when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^(U)will also sit on twelve thrones, ^(V)judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ^29 (W)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold^[b] and will ^(X)inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But ^(Y)many who are ^(Z)first will be last, and the last first.

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^[c] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And ^(AA)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And ^(AB)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^(AC)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^(AD)the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ^(AE)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take ^(AF)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ^15 (AG)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^(AH)do you begrudge my generosity?’^{[d] 16} So ^(AI)the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^17 (AJ)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, ^(AK)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^(AL)condemn him to death ¹⁹ and ^(AM)deliver him over to the Gentiles ^(AN)to be mocked and flogged and ^(AO)crucified, and he will be raised on ^(AP)the third day.”

A Mother's Request

^20 (AQ)Then ^(AR)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^(AS)kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^(AT)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^(AU)in your kingdom.” ²² Jesus answered, ^(AV)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(AW)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, ^(AX)“You will drink ^(AY)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^(AZ)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(BA)prepared by my Father.”