Matthew 20:1-16

Complete Jewish Bible

20 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. ³ Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, ⁴ and said to them, ‘You go to the vineyard too — I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ So they went. ⁵ At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. ⁶ About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ ‘You too,’ he told them, ‘go to the vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.’ ⁹ The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, ¹⁰ so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denarius. ¹¹ On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, ¹² ‘These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!’ ¹³ But he answered one of them, ‘Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? ¹⁴ Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. ¹⁵ Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.”