Matthew 20 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² And after^[a] coming to 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 idle in the marketplace. ⁴ And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out^[b] again about the sixth and ninth hour he did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and^[c] found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go also into the vineyard.’ ⁸ And when^[d] evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their^[e] wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’ ⁹ And when the ones hired about the eleventh hour came, they received a denarius apiece. ¹⁰ And when^[f] the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece. ¹¹ And when they^[g] received it,^[h] they began to complain^[i] against the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’ ¹³ But he answered one of them and^[j] said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go! But I want to give to this last person the same as I gave^[k] to you also. ¹⁵ Is it not^[l] permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ Thus the last will be first and the first last.”

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection a Third Time

¹⁷ And as^[m] Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way, 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 condemn him to death, ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him^[n] and flog him^[o] and crucify him,^[p] and on the third day he will be raised.”

A Request by the Mother of James and John

²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and^[q] kneeling down she asked^[r] something from him. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” 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 Jesus answered and^[s] 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 said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine^[t] to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴ And when^[u] the ten heard this,^[v] they were indignant concerning the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to himself and^[w] said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave— 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 at Jericho

²⁹ And as^[x] they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they^[y] heard that Jesus was passing by, they called out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,^[z] Son of David!” ³¹ And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they called out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us,^[aa] Son of David!” ³² And Jesus stopped,^[ab] called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes be opened!” ³⁴ And having compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 20:2 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“coming to an agreement”) which is understood as temporal
2. Matthew 20:5 Some manuscripts have “And going out”
3. Matthew 20:6 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
4. Matthew 20:8 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”)
5. Matthew 20:8 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
6. Matthew 20:10 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
7. Matthew 20:11 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“received”) which is understood as temporal
8. Matthew 20:11 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
9. Matthew 20:11 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to complain”)
10. Matthew 20:13 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
11. Matthew 20:14 The words “I gave” are an implied repetition from the verb earlier in the verse
12. Matthew 20:15 Some manuscripts have “Or is it not”
13. Matthew 20:17 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was going up”) which is understood as temporal
14. Matthew 20:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
15. Matthew 20:19 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
16. Matthew 20:19 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
17. Matthew 20:20 Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“kneeling down”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
18. Matthew 20:20 Here the participle (“asked”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style
19. Matthew 20:22 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
20. Matthew 20:23 Some manuscripts have “this is not mine”
21. Matthew 20:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
22. Matthew 20:24 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
23. Matthew 20:25 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called … to himself”) has been translated as a finite verb
24. Matthew 20:29 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going out”)
25. Matthew 20:30 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
26. Matthew 20:30 Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord”
27. Matthew 20:31 Some manuscripts have “Have mercy on us, Lord”
28. Matthew 20:32 *Here the participle (“stopped”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style