Matthew 20:1-21 ▼

1 “For the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a master of a house, who went out in the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard.

2 And having agreed with the workmen for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3 And having gone out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the marketplace idle.

4 And to those ones he said, ‘You? also go into the vineyard, and I will give you? whatever may be right.’

5 And they went away. And having gone out again about the sixth and ninth hour, he did likewise.

6 And about the eleventh, having gone out, he found others standing, and he says to them, ‘Why do you? stand here all the day idle?’

7 They say to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He says to them, ‘You? also go into the vineyard.’

8 And evening having come, the master of the vineyard says to his foreman, ‘Call the workmen and pay them the wages, having begun from the last, up to the first.’

9 And having come, the ones of about the eleventh hour each received a denarius.

10 And having come, the first thought that they will receive more. But they themselves also received each a denarius.

11 And having received it, they were grumbling against the master of the house,

12 saying, ‘These, the last, worked one hour, and you made them equal to us, the ones having borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’

13 And answering one of them, he said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me on a denarius?

14 Take what is yours and go. But I want to give to this last one as to you also.

15 Or is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.”

17 And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took aside the twelve disciples by themselves, and on the way He said to them,

18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death.

19 And they will betray Him to the Gentiles to mock and to flog and to crucify, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you want?” She says to Him, “Say that these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left hand, in Your kingdom.”