Matthew 20 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

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

Mat 20:2He agreed to pay them a denarius[fn] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

Mat 20:3

Mat 20:3“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

Mat 20:4

Mat 20:4He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’

Mat 20:5

Mat 20:5So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.

Mat 20:6

Mat 20:6About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

Mat 20:7

Mat 20:7“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

Mat 20:8

Mat 20:8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

Mat 20:9

Mat 20:9“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.

Mat 20:10

Mat 20:10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.

Mat 20:11

Mat 20:11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

Mat 20:12

Mat 20:12‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

Mat 20:13

Mat 20:13“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?

Mat 20:14

Mat 20:14Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.

Mat 20:15

Mat 20:15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

Mat 20:16

Mat 20:16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

(Mar 10:32–34; Luk 18:31–34 )

Mat 20:17

Mat 20:17Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them,

Mat 20:18

Mat 20:18“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death

Mat 20:19

Mat 20:19and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

A Mother’s Request

(Mar 10:35–45 )

Mat 20:20

Mat 20:20Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

Mat 20:21

Mat 20:21“What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

Mat 20:22

Mat 20:22“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.

Mat 20:23

Mat 20:23Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

Mat 20:24

Mat 20:24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.

Mat 20:25

Mat 20:25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Mat 20:26

Mat 20:26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Mat 20:27

Mat 20:27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—

Mat 20:28

Mat 20:28just 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 Receive Sight

(Mar 10:46–52; Luk 18:35–43 )

Mat 20:29

Mat 20:29As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.

Mat 20:30

Mat 20:30Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Mat 20:31

Mat 20:31The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Mat 20:32

Mat 20:32Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

Mat 20:33

Mat 20:33“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Mat 20:34

Mat 20:34Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(20:2)

A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.

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Matthew Chapter 20 — Additional Translations:

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