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Matthew 20 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers
Mat 20:1

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

Mat 20:2

“After agreeing with the workers on one denarius,[fn] he sent them into his vineyard for the day.

Mat 20:3

“When he went out about nine in the morning,[fn] he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

Mat 20:4

“He said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I’ll give you whatever is right.’ So off they went.

Mat 20:5

“About noon and about three,[fn] he went out again and did the same thing.

Mat 20:6

“Then about five[fn] he went and found others standing around[fn] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing? ’

Mat 20:7

“ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him.

“ ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he told them.[fn]

Mat 20:8

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.’

Mat 20:9

“When those who were hired about five came, they each received one denarius.

Mat 20:10

“So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each.

Mat 20:11

“When they received it, they began to complain to the landowner:

Mat 20:12

“‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’

Mat 20:13

“He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I’m doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me on a denarius?

Mat 20:14

“Take what’s yours and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.

Mat 20:15

“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous[fn] because I’m generous? ’[fn]

Mat 20:16

“So the last will be first, and the first last.”[fn]

The Third Prediction of His Death
Mat 20:17

While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples aside privately and said to them on the way,

Mat 20:18

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.

Mat 20:19

“They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged,[fn] and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”[fn]

Suffering and Service
Mat 20:20

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons approached him with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something.

Mat 20:21

“What do you want? ” he asked her.

“Promise,”[fn] she said to him, “that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and the other on your left, in your kingdom.”

Mat 20:22

Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? ”[fn]

“We are able,” they said to him.

Mat 20:23

He told them, “You will indeed drink my cup,[fn] but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

Mat 20:24

When the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers.

Mat 20:25

Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them.

Mat 20:26

“It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Mat 20:27

“and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;

Mat 20:28

“just 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
Mat 20:29

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.

Mat 20:30

There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ”

Mat 20:31

The crowd demanded that they keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! ”

Mat 20:32

Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you? ”

Mat 20:33

“Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.”

Mat 20:34

Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.

CSB Footnotes
A denarius = one day’s wage, also in vv. 9,10,13
Lit about the third hour
Lit about the sixth hour and the ninth hour
Lit about the eleventh hour, also in v. 9
Other mss add doing nothing
Other mss add ‘and you’ll get whatever is right.’
Lit Is your eye evil ; an idiom for jealousy or stinginess
Lit good
Other mss add “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Or scourged
Other mss read will rise again
Lit Say
Other mss add and (or) to be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized? ”
Other mss add and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.
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Matthew Chapter 20 — Additional Translations: