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

New Living Translation
“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.

English Standard Version
And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

Berean Standard Bible
About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

Berean Literal Bible
And having gone out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

King James Bible
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

New King James Version
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

New American Standard Bible
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

NASB 1995
“And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

NASB 1977
“And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;

Legacy Standard Bible
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

Amplified Bible
And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place;

Christian Standard Bible
When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When he went out about nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

American Standard Version
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he went out at the third hour and saw others who were standing in the marketplace and were idle.

Contemporary English Version
About nine that morning, the man saw some other people standing in the market with nothing to do.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And going about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle.

English Revised Version
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work.

Good News Translation
He went out again to the marketplace at nine o'clock and saw some men standing there doing nothing,

International Standard Version
When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing in the marketplace without work.

Literal Standard Version
And having gone forth about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle,

Majority Standard Bible
About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

New American Bible
Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

NET Bible
When it was about nine o'clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work.

New Revised Standard Version
When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

New Heart English Bible
He went out about nine in the morning, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place,

Weymouth New Testament
About nine o'clock he went out and saw others loitering in the market-place.

World English Bible
He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.

Young's Literal Translation
'And having gone forth about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Workers
2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’…

Cross References
Matthew 20:2
He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

Matthew 20:4
You also go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you whatever is right.'

Acts 16:19
When the girl's owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.

Acts 17:17
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.


Treasury of Scripture

And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

the third.

Mark 15:25
And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Acts 2:15
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

standing.

Matthew 20:6,7
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? …

Matthew 11:16,17
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, …

Proverbs 19:15
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

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Forth Hour Idle Loitering Market Marketplace Market-Place Nine O'clock Others Standing Third
Matthew 20
1. Jesus, by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, shows that God is debtor unto no man;
17. foretells his passion;
20. by answering the mother of Zebedee's children, teaches his disciples to be humble;
29. and gives two blind men their sight.














(3) About the third hour.--Reckoning the day after the Jewish mode, as beginning at 6 A.M., this would bring us to 8 A.M. The "market-place" of a town was the natural place in which the seekers for casual labour were to be found waiting for employment. In the meaning which underlies the parable we may see a reference to those who, like St. Matthew (Matthew 9:9) and the disciples called in Matthew 8:19-22, were summoned after the sons of Jonas and of Zebedee.

Verse 3. - The third hour. It seems that at this time the Jews divided the day, reckoned between sunrise and sunset, into twelve equal parts, the length of these divisions varying according to the season. The day in Palestine at longest consisted of fourteen European hours twelve minutes, and at shortest of nine hours forty-eight minutes, so that the difference between the longest and shortest division of the so called Jewish "hour" was twenty-two minutes. It is usual to consider the Hebrew day as lasting from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the sixth hour corresponding to our noon, the first hour being 7 o'clock and the third 9 a.m. This estimate, though not absolutely correct, is near enough to the fact to serve all expository purposes. The four periods mentioned in the parable are quarters of the working day, in which a proportional part of the day's wages might be earned. Standing idle in the marketplace. The Greek agora, the Roman forum, and the Eastern marketplace, was the usual place where idlers and expectant labourers gathered together. Such a scene may often nowadays be witnessed in Oriental cities, and indeed at our own docks, and in many of our small country towns. It must be supposed that the labourers now hired either were not present when the householder first went forth, or that they had then rejected his offer, but now thought better of it. And so, in the case of the others later on.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
About
περὶ (peri)
Preposition
Strong's 4012: From the base of peran; properly, through, i.e. Around; figuratively with respect to; used in various applications, of place, cause or time.

the third
τρίτην (tritēn)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5154: Third. Ordinal from treis; third; neuter a third part, or a third time, thirdly.

hour
ὥραν (hōran)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5610: Apparently a primary word; an 'hour'.

he went out
ἐξελθὼν (exelthōn)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1831: To go out, come out. From ek and erchomai; to issue.

[and] saw
εἶδεν (eiden)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

others
ἄλλους (allous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 243: Other, another (of more than two), different. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Different.

standing
ἑστῶτας (hestōtas)
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2476: A prolonged form of a primary stao stah'-o; to stand, used in various applications.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

marketplace
ἀγορᾷ (agora)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 58: From ageiro; properly, the town-square; by implication, a market or thoroughfare.

without anything to do.
ἀργούς (argous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 692: Idle, lazy, thoughtless, unprofitable, injurious. (by implication) lazy, useless.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 20:3 He went out about the third hour (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 20:2
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