Matius 20:1-3

Workers in the Vineyard

20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner ¹  who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 20:2 And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, ²  he sent them into his vineyard. 20:3 When it was about nine o’clock in the morning, ³  he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work.

[20:1]  ¹ sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.

[20:2]  ² tn Grk “agreeing with the workers for a denarius a day.”

[20:2]  sn The standard wage was a denarius a day. The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer in Palestine in the 1st century.

[20:3]  ³ tn Grk “about the third hour.”