Matthew 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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) 2 After agreeing with the workers on one denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine in the morning,[a] he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 To those men he said, ‘You also go to my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went. 5 About noon and at three,[b] he went out again and did the same thing. 6 Then about five[c] he went and found others standing around,[d] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.
“‘You also go to my vineyard,’ he told them.[e] 8 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.’[f]
9 “When those who were hired about five[g] 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 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 my business?[h] Are you jealous[i] because I’m generous?’[j](E)
16 “So the last will be first, and the first last.”[k](F)
The Third Prediction of His Death
17 While going up to Jerusalem,(G) Jesus took the 12 disciples aside privately and said to them on the way: 18 “Listen! 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 Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles(I) to be mocked, flogged,[l] and crucified, and He will be resurrected[m] on the third day.”
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,”[n] 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 But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup[o] that I am about to drink?”[p](M)
“We are able,” they said to Him.
23 He told them, “You will indeed drink My cup.[q] But to sit at My right and left is not Mine to give; instead, it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”(N) 24 When the 10 disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power 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—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 told them to 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
- Matthew 20:3 Lit about the third hour
- Matthew 20:5 Lit about the sixth hour and the ninth hour
- Matthew 20:6 Lit about the eleventh hour
- Matthew 20:6 Other mss add doing nothing
- Matthew 20:7 Other mss add ‘and you’ll get whatever is right.’
- Matthew 20:8 Lit starting from the last until the first
- Matthew 20:9 Lit about the eleventh hour
- Matthew 20:15 Lit with what is mine
- Matthew 20:15 Lit Is your eye evil; an idiom for jealousy or stinginess
- Matthew 20:15 Lit good
- Matthew 20:16 Other mss add For many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Matthew 20:19 Or scourged
- Matthew 20:19 Other mss read will rise again
- Matthew 20:21 Lit Say
- Matthew 20:22 Figurative language referring to His coming suffering; Mt 26:39; Jn 18:11
- Matthew 20:22 Other mss add and (or) to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
- Matthew 20:23 Other mss add and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.
Matthew 20
New Century Version
A Story About Workers
20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2 The man agreed to pay the workers one coin[a] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. 3 About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. 4 So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o’clock and three o’clock and did the same thing. 6 About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ 7 They answered, ‘No one gave us a job.’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.’
9 “When the workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay, each received one coin. 10 When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one coin. 11 When they got their coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. 12 They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us who worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ 13 But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one coin. 14 So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15 I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’
16 “So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last.”
Jesus Talks About His Own Death
17 While Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he took his twelve followers aside privately and said to them, 18 “Look, we are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be turned over to the leading priests and the teachers of the law, and they will say that he must die. 19 They will give the Son of Man to the non-Jewish people to laugh at him and beat him with whips and crucify him. But on the third day, he will be raised to life again.”
A Mother Asks Jesus a Favor
20 Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons. She bowed before him and asked him to do something for her.
21 Jesus asked, “What do you want?”
She said, “Promise that one of my sons will sit at your right side and the other will sit at your left side in your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus said, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?”[b]
The sons answered, “Yes, we can.”
23 Jesus said to them, “You will drink from my cup. But I cannot choose who will sit at my right or my left; those places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”
24 When the other ten followers heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called all the followers together and said, “You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. 26 But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. 27 Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. 28 In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 When Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho, a great many people followed him. 30 Two blind men sitting by the road heard that Jesus was going by, so they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The people warned the blind men to be quiet, but they shouted even more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and said to the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?”
33 They answered, “Lord, we want to see.”
34 Jesus felt sorry for the blind men and touched their eyes, and at once they could see. Then they followed Jesus.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
