Matthew 20

New International Version

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like^(A) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.^(B) ²He agreed to pay them a denarius^[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸“When evening came,^(C) the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble^(D) against the landowner. ¹²‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat^(E) of the day.’

¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.^(F) Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^(G)

¹⁶“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^(H)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time^(I)

¹⁷Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸“We are going up to Jerusalem,^(J) and the Son of Man^(K) will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.^(L) They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged^(M) and crucified.^(N) On the third day^(O) he will be raised to life!”^(P)

A Mother’s Request^(Q)

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons^(R) came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,^(S) asked a favor of him.

²¹“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”^(T)

²²“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup^(U) I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

²³Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup,^(V) but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten heard about this, they were indignant^(W) with the two brothers. ²⁵Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,^(X) ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸just as the Son of Man^(Y) did not come to be served, but to serve,^(Z) and to give his life as a ransom^(AA) for many.”

Two Blind Men Receive Sight^(AB)

²⁹As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David,^(AC) have mercy on us!”

³¹The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³³“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

³⁴Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Footnotes

Matthew 20:2 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.

Jeremiah 6

New International Version

Jerusalem Under Siege

6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
    Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet^(A) in Tekoa!^(B)
    Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!^(C)
For disaster looms out of the north,^(D)
    even terrible destruction.
²I will destroy Daughter Zion,^(E)
    so beautiful and delicate.^(F)
³Shepherds^(G) with their flocks will come against her;
    they will pitch their tents around^(H) her,
    each tending his own portion.”

⁴“Prepare for battle against her!
    Arise, let us attack at noon!^(I)
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
    and the shadows of evening grow long.
⁵So arise, let us attack at night
    and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees^(J)
    and build siege ramps^(K) against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
    it is filled with oppression.^(L)
⁷As a well pours out its water,
    so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence^(M) and destruction^(N) resound in her;
    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
⁸Take warning, Jerusalem,
    or I will turn away^(O) from you
and make your land desolate
    so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant^(P) of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen^(Q) to me?
Their ears are closed^[a]^(R)
    so they cannot hear.^(S)
The word^(T) of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
¹¹But I am full of the wrath^(U) of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.^(V)

“Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men^(W) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.^(X)
¹²Their houses will be turned over to others,^(Y)
    together with their fields and their wives,^(Z)
when I stretch out my hand^(AA)
    against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
¹³“From the least to the greatest,
    all^(AB) are greedy for gain;^(AC)
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(AD)
¹⁴They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace.^(AE)
¹⁵Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.^(AF)
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish^(AG) them,”
says the Lord.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,^(AH)
ask where the good way^(AI) is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest^(AJ) for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷I appointed watchmen^(AK) over you and said,
    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’^(AL)
    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’^(AM)
¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
¹⁹Hear, you earth:^(AN)
    I am bringing disaster^(AO) on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,^(AP)
because they have not listened to my words^(AQ)
    and have rejected my law.^(AR)
²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba^(AS)
    or sweet calamus^(AT) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;^(AU)
    your sacrifices^(AV) do not please me.”^(AW)

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble^(AX) over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;^(AY)
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.^(AZ)
²³They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.^(BA)
They sound like the roaring sea^(BB)
    as they ride on their horses;^(BC)
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.^(BD)”

²⁴We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.^(BE)
Anguish^(BF) has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(BG)
²⁵Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.^(BH)
²⁶Put on sackcloth,^(BI) my people,
    and roll in ashes;^(BJ)
mourn with bitter wailing^(BK)
    as for an only son,^(BL)
for suddenly the destroyer^(BM)
    will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester^(BN) of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
²⁸They are all hardened rebels,^(BO)
    going about to slander.^(BP)
They are bronze and iron;^(BQ)
    they all act corruptly.
²⁹The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining^(BR) goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
³⁰They are called rejected silver,^(BS)
    because the Lord has rejected them.”^(BT)