Matthew 20
20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2And after#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“coming to an agreement”) which is understood as temporal coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. 4And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5So they went. Going out#Some manuscripts have “And going out” again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ 8And when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”) evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their#Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ 9And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. 10And when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. 11And when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“received”) which is understood as temporal received it,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation they began to complain#The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to complain”) against the master of the house, 12saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ 13But he answered one of them and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave#The words “I gave” are an implied repetition from the verb earlier in the verse to you also. 15Is it not#Some manuscripts have “Or is it not” permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ 16Thus the last will be first and the first last.”
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time
17And as#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was going up”) which is understood as temporal Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples 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 scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and flog him#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and crucify him,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and on the third day he will be raised.”
A Request by the Mother of James and John
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and#*Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“kneeling down”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style kneeling down she asked#*Here the participle (“asked”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style something from him. 21And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom.” 22But Jesus answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine#Some manuscripts have “this is not mine” to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24And when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal the ten heard this,#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation they were indignant concerning the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them to himself and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called … to himself”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them. 26It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave—28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Two Blind Men Healed at Jericho
29And as#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going out”) they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard that Jesus was passing by, they called out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,#Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord” Son of David!” 31And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they called out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,#Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord” Son of David!” 32And Jesus stopped,#*Here the participle (“stopped”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes be opened!” 34And having compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.
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Matthew 20: LEB
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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.