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Matthew 20

1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the workers on a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3He went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. 4He said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ 5So they went. He went out again about the sixth and ninth hours and did the same. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there. He said to them, ‘Why have you stood here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into the vineyard.’

8“When evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ 9Those hired about the eleventh hour came and received a denarius each. 10When the first came, they thought they would receive more, but they too received a denarius each. 11When they received it, they grumbled against the householder, 12saying, ‘These last worked one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the day's burden and the scorching heat.’ 13But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not wronging you. Did you not agree with me on a denarius? 14Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last one just as to you. 15Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first last.”

17As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18“Look, 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. 19They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”

20Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, bowing before him and asking something from him. 21He said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” 23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24When the ten heard this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26It will not be so among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you will 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.”

29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30And look, two blind people sitting beside the road heard that Jesus was passing by and cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they could see and followed him.

Translation notes 6

20:1–16 — Workers and hours. These are hired workers, not the slaves of the preceding parable. The hours are counted from sunrise: roughly nine in the morning, noon, three in the afternoon, and five in the afternoon. A denarius is the agreed day's pay. The first/last reversal continues 19:30.

20:15 — Evil eye; good. The eye image expresses envy or resentment of the owner's generosity. “Good” includes his generosity in this context. The image offers a comparison with 6:22–23 without requiring that every part of that earlier passage mean the same thing.

20:16, 22–23 — Shorter readings. The base text lacks “many are called, but few chosen” at verse 16 and the baptism comparisons added in some manuscripts at verses 22–23. These additions are not silently imported from other passages.

20:20–23 — Mother; cup. Matthew explicitly includes the mother making the request; Jesus' reply addresses the sons in the plural. The cup pictures the suffering ahead. The Father's preparation remains explicit, and Jesus' statement is not expanded into a theory about the limits of his authority.

20:26–28 — Servant, slave, ransom. Verse 26 uses ordinary service language, verse 27 the word for slave, and verse 28 returns to serving. Ransom pictures a price of release; “for many” has the sense of giving his life in exchange for many. The text does not name a recipient of the ransom.

20:29–34 — Two people; compassion. Matthew has two blind people, and they meet Jesus as he is leaving Jericho. Neither detail is adjusted to another Gospel. Their repeated appeal is kept identical. The two Greek words for eyes in verses 33–34 both have the ordinary English equivalent “eyes.”