Matthew 20
20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven * is like a man, the master of a house, * who went out early in the morning to engage workers for his vineyard. 2 And after reaching an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing aimlessly in the marketplace. 4 And to them he said, ‘You too, go into the vineyard, and I will render to you whatever is equitable.’ 5 So they departed. When he went out once more about the sixth and ninth hour, he acted in the same way. 6 And about the eleventh hour, having gone out and found others standing around, he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here the whole day aimlessly?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has engaged us.’ He said to them, ‘You too, go into the vineyard.’ 8 And when evening came, the master of the vineyard * said to his domestic manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last unto the first.’ 9 And when the ones who were engaged about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10 And when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but they also each received a denarius. 11 And when they received it, they began to grumble against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked for one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the oppressive heat.’ 13 But in response, he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not acting unjustly towards you. Did you not reach an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go. But I choose to give to this last person just as I give * to you. 15 Is it not allowed for me to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first and the first last.” *
Jesus Speaks of His Death a Third Time
Mk. 10:32-34; Lk. 18:31-34
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples* aside and said to them on the road, 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 sentence Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to deride Him, and to flog Him, and to crucify Him; and on the third day, He will be raised.”
A Request for Preferment
Mk. 10:35-45
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons and, kneeling in reverence, she requested something from Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you desire?” 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.” 22 But in response, Jesus 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.” 23 He* stated to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, * but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” 24 And having heard this, the ten were greatly indignant with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their * great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be in this way among you. But whoever desires to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave, 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to offer His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals the Two Blind Men
Mk. 10:46-52; Lk. 18:35-43
29 And as they were departing from Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”* 31 And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they cried out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And when He stopped, Jesus called them, and said, “What do you desire that I should do for you?” 33 They said to Him, “Lord, grant* that our eyes may be opened.” 34 And, moved by compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Notes
1 Greek of the heavens
1 Or landowner. So also v. 11
8 Or the owner of the vineyard
14 The independent clause I give is contextually supplied to the text for the purpose of clarification
16 Some ancient manuscripts insert at the end of the verse the statement For many are called, but few are chosen, likely as an effort to conform the reading to a parallel construction in 22:14
17 Some ancient manuscripts read His twelve disciples
21 Or grant
21 Or on. Used twice in this verse
22 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the passive construction and to be baptised with the baptism which I am baptised with, likely as a way of conforming the reading to a parallel in Mk. 10:38
23 Some ancient manuscripts insert the name Jesus at this point, so that it reads: He stated to them
23 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the passive construction [ and the ] baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised, likely as a way of conforming the reading to a parallel in Mk. 10:39
25 Greek the . Here, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, corresponding contextually to the English possessive their
30 Some ancient manuscripts read Lord, have mercy on us, while some others read Have mercy on us
33 The word grant is supplied to the text on contextual grounds for the purpose of clarification
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Matthew 20
20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1 “For the kingdom of heaven * is like a man, the master of a house, * who went out early in the morning to engage workers for his vineyard. 2 And after reaching an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing aimlessly in the marketplace. 4 And to them he said, ‘You too, go into the vineyard, and I will render to you whatever is equitable.’ 5 So they departed. When he went out once more about the sixth and ninth hour, he acted in the same way. 6 And about the eleventh hour, having gone out and found others standing around, he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here the whole day aimlessly?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has engaged us.’ He said to them, ‘You too, go into the vineyard.’ 8 And when evening came, the master of the vineyard * said to his domestic manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last unto the first.’ 9 And when the ones who were engaged about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10 And when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but they also each received a denarius. 11 And when they received it, they began to grumble against the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last people worked for one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the oppressive heat.’ 13 But in response, he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am not acting unjustly towards you. Did you not reach an agreement with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go. But I choose to give to this last person just as I give * to you. 15 Is it not allowed for me to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first and the first last.” *
Jesus Speaks of His Death a Third Time
Mk. 10:32-34; Lk. 18:31-34
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples* aside and said to them on the road, 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 sentence Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to deride Him, and to flog Him, and to crucify Him; and on the third day, He will be raised.”
A Request for Preferment
Mk. 10:35-45
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Him with her sons and, kneeling in reverence, she requested something from Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you desire?” 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.” 22 But in response, Jesus 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.” 23 He* stated to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, * but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” 24 And having heard this, the ten were greatly indignant with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their * great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be in this way among you. But whoever desires to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave, 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to offer His life a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals the Two Blind Men
Mk. 10:46-52; Lk. 18:35-43
29 And as they were departing from Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”* 31 And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they cried out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And when He stopped, Jesus called them, and said, “What do you desire that I should do for you?” 33 They said to Him, “Lord, grant* that our eyes may be opened.” 34 And, moved by compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Notes
1 Greek of the heavens
1 Or landowner. So also v. 11
8 Or the owner of the vineyard
14 The independent clause I give is contextually supplied to the text for the purpose of clarification
16 Some ancient manuscripts insert at the end of the verse the statement For many are called, but few are chosen, likely as an effort to conform the reading to a parallel construction in 22:14
17 Some ancient manuscripts read His twelve disciples
21 Or grant
21 Or on. Used twice in this verse
22 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the passive construction and to be baptised with the baptism which I am baptised with, likely as a way of conforming the reading to a parallel in Mk. 10:38
23 Some ancient manuscripts insert the name Jesus at this point, so that it reads: He stated to them
23 Some ancient manuscripts insert at this point the passive construction [ and the ] baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised, likely as a way of conforming the reading to a parallel in Mk. 10:39
25 Greek the . Here, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, corresponding contextually to the English possessive their
30 Some ancient manuscripts read Lord, have mercy on us, while some others read Have mercy on us
33 The word grant is supplied to the text on contextual grounds for the purpose of clarification
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).