Mattityahu 20
20
1The Malchut HaShomayim is like a man, the Baal Bayit, who went out early in the boker, to hire poalim (workers) for his kerem.
2And having agreed with the poalim to salary them a denarius for their dayʼs pay, the Baal Bayit sent them into his kerem.
3And having gone out around the third hour, the Baal Bayit saw others loitering in the marketplace,
4and he said to those, You go also into the kerem. And whatever is right, this is what your pay will be.
5And they left. And again, having gone out around the sixth and the ninth hour, the Baal Bayit did the same thing.
6And around the eleventh hour, having gone out, the Baal Bayit found others standing around, and he says to them, Why have you been standing here all the day not working?
7The idle workers say to the Baal Bayit, Because no one hired us. The Baal Bayit says to them, You go also into the kerem.
8And when erev had come, another man, the owner of the kerem, says to his foreman, Call the poalim and give to them the wage, beginning with the acharonim and going to the rishonim.
9And the ones that came around the eleventh hour each received a denarius.
10And when the rishonim came, they were under the impression that they would receive a larger sum; instead, they themselves each received a denarius.
11And when they received the denarius, they were complaining against the Baal Bayit,
12saying, These acharonim worked one hour, and you made them equal to us, the ones having endured the burden and the heat of the whole day.
13But the Baal Bayit said in reply to one of them, Chaver, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree that I would pay you the usual dayʼs wage, a denarius?
14Take what belongs to you, your denarius, and go. But it is my ratzon, my good pleasure, to give to this one who is last also what I gave to you.
15Or is it not allowable for me to do what I wish with the things that are mine? Or do you look with a jealous ayin horo upon my goodness?
16Thus the Rishonim will be Acharonim, and the Acharonim will be Rishonim. For the invited ones are many, but the nivcharim (chosen ones) are few.
17And going up to Yerushalayim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach took the Shneym Asar Talmidim aside in a yechidus and, on the way, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them,
18Hinei! We are going up to Yerushalayim, and the Bar Enosh#20:18 Moshiach will be handed over to the Rashei Hakohanim and the Sofrim (scribes, torah teachers, or rabbonim), and they will condemn him to death.
19And they will hand Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach over to the Goyim in order to mock and to whip and to hang him up TALUI AL HAETZ#20:19 Dt 21:23 (being hanged on the Tree), and after his histalkus (passing), on the Yom HaShlishi (Third Day) there will be Techiyas HaMoshiach.
20Then the Em of Zavdaiʼs banim, along with the sons, approached Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach and, prostrating herself before him, she made a bakosha (request) of him.
21And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to her, What do you wish? She says to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Say that these, my two banim, may sit, one on your right, the other on your left, in your#20:21 the Moshiachʼs Malchut.
22And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said in reply, You do not have daas of what you are asking. Are you able to drink the Kos which I am about to drink? They say, We are able.
23Moshiach says to them, Indeed, you will drink my Kos, but to sit on the right and on the left of me, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my#20:23 Moshiachʼs Av.
24And having heard this, HaAsarah (The Ten) became indignant about the two achim (brothers).
25But Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, having summoned them, said, You have daas that those who have the rule over the Goyim domineer them like tyrants.
26But it will not be thus among you. For whoever wishes to be gadol among you will become your mesharet (servant, minister).
27And whoever wishes among you to be rishon (first) will be your eved (servant).
28Just as the Bar Enosh#20:28 Moshiach did not come to be served, to be ministered to, but to serve, to minister, and to give his neshamah, his nefesh, as a kofer (ransom, pedut) LARABBIM#20:28 Isa 53:11 (for the sake of many, for the Geulah Redemption of many).
29And, as they were going out from Yericho, a great multitude followed Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
30And hinei! Two ivrim (blind men), sitting beside the road, having heard that Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach is passing by, shouted, crying out, Adoneinu, Ben Dovid, chaneinu, yhi chasedcha aleinu#20:30 Ps 33:22 (have mercy on us)!
31However, the crowd rebuked the two ivrim, that they be silent, but they shouted even more, saying Chaneinu, Adoneinu Ben Dovid!
32And having stopped, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach called to them and said, What do you wish that I should do for you?
33They say to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach: Adoneinu, that our eyes may be opened!
34And having been filled with rachmei shomayim (heavenly mercy, compassion), he touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes were opened and they followed Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
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Mattityahu 20: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Matthew 20
20
The Workers in the Vineyard.#This parable is peculiar to Matthew. It is difficult to know whether the evangelist composed it or received it as part of his traditional material and, if the latter is the case, what its original reference was. In its present context its close association with Mt 19:30 suggests that its teaching is the equality of all the disciples in the reward of inheriting eternal life. 1“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4#What is just: although the wage is not stipulated as in the case of those first hired, it will be fair. and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ 5So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. 6Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ 8#Beginning with the last…the first: this element of the parable has no other purpose than to show how the first knew what the last were given (Mt 20:12). #Lv 19:13; Dt 24:15. When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. 10So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. 11And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ 13He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you.#I am not cheating you: literally, “I am not treating you unjustly.” Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14#The owner’s conduct involves no violation of justice (Mt 20:4, 13), and that all the workers receive the same wage is due only to his generosity to the latest arrivals; the resentment of the first comes from envy. Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? 15[Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ 16#See note on Mt 19:30. Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Third Prediction of the Passion.#Cf. Mk 10:32–34. This is the third and the most detailed of the passion predictions (Mt 16:21–23; 17:22–23). It speaks of Jesus’ being handed over to the Gentiles (Mt 27:2), his being mocked (Mt 27:27–30), scourged (Mt 27:26), and crucified (Mt 27:31, 35). In all but the last of these points Matthew agrees with his Marcan source, but whereas Mark speaks of Jesus’ being killed (Mk 10:34), Matthew has the specific to be…crucified. 17#16:21; 17:22–23; Mk 10:32–34; Lk 18:31–33. As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve [disciples] aside 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 the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
The Request of James and John.#Cf. Mk 10:35–45. The request of the sons of Zebedee, made through their mother, for the highest places of honor in the kingdom, and the indignation of the other ten disciples at this request, show that neither the two brothers nor the others have understood that what makes for greatness in the kingdom is not lordly power but humble service. Jesus gives the example, and his ministry of service will reach its highest point when he gives his life for the deliverance of the human race from sin. 20#Mk 10:35–45. Then the mother#The reason for Matthew’s making the mother the petitioner (cf. Mk 10:35) is not clear. Possibly he intends an allusion to Bathsheba’s seeking the kingdom for Solomon; see 1 Kgs 1:11–21. Your kingdom: see note on Mt 16:28. of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. 21He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” 22Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking.#You do not know what you are asking: the Greek verbs are plural and, with the rest of the verse, indicate that the answer is addressed not to the woman but to her sons. Drink the cup: see note on Mk 10:38–40. Matthew omits the Marcan “or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized” (Mk 10:38). Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24#Lk 22:25–27. When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. 25But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. 26But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; 27#Mk 9:35. whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. 28#26:28; Is 53:12; Rom 5:6; 1 Tm 2:6. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom#Ransom: this noun, which occurs in the New Testament only here and in the Marcan parallel (Mk 10:45), does not necessarily express the idea of liberation by payment of some price. The cognate verb is used frequently in the LXX of God’s liberating Israel from Egypt or from Babylonia after the Exile; see Ex 6:6; 15:13; Ps 77:16 (76 LXX); Is 43:1; 44:22. The liberation brought by Jesus’ death will be for many; cf. Is 53:12. Many does not mean that some are excluded, but is a Semitism designating the collectivity who benefit from the service of the one, and is equivalent to “all.” While there are few verbal contacts between this saying and the fourth Servant Song (Is 52:13–53:12), the ideas of that passage are reflected here. for many.”
The Healing of Two Blind Men.#The cure of the blind men is probably symbolic of what will happen to the disciples, now blind to the meaning of Jesus’ passion and to the necessity of their sharing his suffering. As the men are given sight, so, after the resurrection, will the disciples come to see that to which they are now blind. Matthew has abbreviated his Marcan source (Mk 10:46–52) and has made Mark’s one man two. Such doubling is characteristic of this gospel; see Mt 8:28–34 (// Mk 5:1–20) and the note on Mt 9:27–31. 29#Mk 10:46–52; Lk 18:35–43. As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30#9:27. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,]#[Lord,]: some important textual witnesses omit this, but that may be because copyists assimilated this verse to Mt 9:27. Son of David: see note on Mt 9:27. Son of David, have pity on us!” 31The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!” 32Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.
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