Mattithyahu (Matthew) 20
20
1“For the reign of the heavens is like a man, a householder who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2And when he had agreed with the workers for a denarius#Roman monetary unit. a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3“And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market-place,
4and said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I shall give you.’ And they went.
5“Having gone out again about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did likewise.
6“And about the eleventh hour, having gone out, he found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
7They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive.’ ”
8“And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’
9And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.#Roman monetary unit.
10“And when the first came, they thought they would receive more. But they too received each a silver piece.
11And when they received it, they grumbled against the householder,”
12saying, ‘These last have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
13But he answering, said to one of them, ‘Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?#Roman monetary unit.
14Take yours and go. But I wish to give to this last man as also to you.
15Is it not right for me to do what I wish with my own? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
16“Thus the last shall be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”#See Mat.22:14.
17And יהושע, going up to Yerushalayim, took the twelve taught ones aside on the way and said to them,
18“See, we are going up to Yerushalayim, and the Son of Aḏam shall be delivered up to the chief priests and to the scribes. And they shall condemn Him to death,
19and deliver Him to the nations to mock and to flog and to impale. And the third day He shall be raised.”
20Then the mother of the sons of Zaḇdai came to Him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.
21And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that these two sons of mine might sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your reign.”
22But יהושע answering, said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and to be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
23And He said to them, “You shall indeed drink My cup, and you shall be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with.#See also Mark 10:39; Luke 12:50 But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
24And when the ten heard it, they were displeased at the two brothers.
25But יהושע called them near and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations are masters over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
26“But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27And whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be your servant,”
28even as the Son of Aḏam did not come to be served, but to serve,# Mark 10:45; Isa. 49:1-7 and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
29And as they were leaving Yeriḥo, a large crowd followed Him.
30And see, two blind men sitting by the way, having heard that יהושע was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have compassion on us, O Master, Son of Dawiḏ!”
31And the crowd rebuked them that they should be silent, but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have compassion on us, O Master, Son of Dawiḏ!”
32And יהושע stopped and called them, and said, “What do you wish Me to do for you?”
33They said to Him, “Master, that our eyes be opened.”
34And having been moved with compassion, יהושע touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 20: TS2009
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Matthew 20
20
A Story About Workers
1-2“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.
3-5a “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
5b-6 “He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’
7“They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’
9-12“Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’
13-15“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’
16“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
To Drink from the Cup
17-19Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.”
20It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
21“What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”
22Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
23Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”
24-28When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
* * *
29-31As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed. Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!” The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, “Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!”
32Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?”
33They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!”
34Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.