The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew20:1–16

The Parable of the Workers

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Matthew 20:1–16 — The Parable of the Workers. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

1

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar hē basileia tōn ouranōn estin Homoia anthrōpō oikodespotē hostis exēlthen hama prōi misthōsasthai ergatas eis autou ton ampelōna

Word by word19 · parsed
γάρgarForG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
γάρ: for, assigning a reason The whole parable hangs on this particle. Ellicott calls the chapter division "singularly unfortunate"; Barnes says the word "for" shows the chapter should not have been broken here. The parable is an argument, not an illustration floating free.
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
βασιλείαbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
βασιλεία: royalty, rule, kingdom The noun is royal dominion before it is territory, and here it is the subject of a comparison about wages. Barnes takes it of the church "including, perhaps, its state here and hereafter"; Pulpit of the church militant when the workers are hired and triumphant when the reward is paid. The parable therefore speaks of the reign of God under the figure of a payroll, which is why the offence of v. 12 is a theological offence and not merely an industrial one.
τῶνtōnofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
οὐρανῶνouranōnheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounGenitive Masculine Plural
ἐστινestinisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὉμοίαHomoialikeG3664
√ ὅμοιος — similar (in appearance or character)AdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
ἀνθρώπῳanthrōpōvvvG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounDative Masculine Singular
ἄνθρωπος: a man, a human being A dative of comparison, and the first of the two nouns the English collapses. That the kingdom is likened to a man before it is likened to an owner is what lets the commentators put a face in the frame.
οἰκοδεσπότῃoikodespotēa landownerG3617
√ οἰκοδεσπότης — the head of a familyNounDative Masculine Singular
οἰκοδεσπότης: the head of a family Literally house (οἶκος) plus master (δεσπότης). Ellicott notes that this is a title our Lord "seems to have, as it were, delighted in," applying it to Himself at Matthew 10:25 and twice in Matthew 13; Gill expands it to "master of the whole family of God, in heaven, and in earth." The word returns in v. 11 as the object of the muttering, so the figure of the parable begins and is complained against under the same name.
ὅστιςhostiswhoG3748
√ ὅστις — which some, iPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐξῆλθενexēlthenwent outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἅμαhamaearly inG260
√ ἅμα — properly, at the "same" time, but freely used as a preposition or adverb denoting close associationPreposition
ἅμα: at the same time, together with A preposition of simultaneity, not of earliness. Its rarity (10 verses) makes the phrase deliberate.
πρωῒprōi[the] morningG4404
√ πρωΐ — at dawnAdverb
πρωΐ: at dawn JFB records Webster and Wilkinson's observation that at vintage time labour was scarce, so masters had to be early in the market to secure it. The urgency is in the trade, not only in the allegory.
μισθώσασθαιmisthōsasthaito hireG3409
√ μισθόω — to let out for wages, iVerbAorist Infinitive Middle
μισθόω: to let out for wages, to hire The verb whose noun (μισθός, wage, v. 8) is the hinge of the whole story. Its only other appearance in the unit is v. 7, in the mouths of the unhired: "no one hired us." Everything the parable will say about grace is said inside the vocabulary of contract.
ἐργάταςergatasworkersG2040
√ ἐργάτης — a toilerNounAccusative Masculine Plural
εἰςeisforG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶναampelōnavineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελών: a vineyard The single image on which every voice in the brief agrees and then divides. Ellicott: "the 'vineyard' is primarily, as in Isaiah 5:1, the house of Israel." JFB lists Psalm 80:8-16, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 2:21, Luke 20:9-16, John 15:1-8. Gill and Pulpit read it of the church; Cambridge flatly glosses it "workers for the Church of Christ." The word occurs 21 times in the Greek New Testament and four of those occurrences are in this unit (vv. 1, 2, 4, 7).
2

He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de symphōnēsas meta tōn ergatōn dēnariou ek tēn hēmeran apesteilen autous eis autou ton ampelōna

Word by word15 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
συμφωνήσαςsymphōnēsasHe agreedG4856
√ συμφωνέω — to be harmonious, iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
συμφωνέω: to be harmonious, to agree A rare verb (6 verses in the Greek New Testament) and it occurs twice in this unit: here, and in the householder's question at v. 13. The agreement is the only thing in the parable that is ever called just by both parties, and the householder rests his defence on it rather than on his liberality.
μετὰmeta[to pay]G3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ἐργατῶνergatōn[them]G2040
√ ἐργάτης — a toilerNounGenitive Masculine Plural
δηναρίουdēnarioua denariusG1220
√ δηνάριον — a denarius (or ten asses)NounGenitive Neuter Singular
δηνάριον: a denarius Ellicott reckons it "the average price of the unskilled labour of the tiller of the soil" and therefore "an adequate and just payment"; Barnes and Pulpit both cite Tacitus (Annals 1.17) that it was a Roman soldier's daily pay; Gill quotes the Mishnaic rule on those "hired for a day." Ellicott and Barnes then read the coin allegorically as the eternal life of the kingdom, which is why v. 9 can pay a fraction of a day at the full rate without shortchanging anyone.
ἐκekforG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἡμέρανhēmerandayG2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἡμέρα: day The measure the workers will treat as the unit of desert. It returns in v. 6 ("the whole day") and v. 12 ("of the day"), each time in the mouth of someone counting.
ἀπέστειλενapesteilen[and] sentG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἀποστέλλω: to set apart, to send on commission Aorist indicative: the sending is done and complete before any work is reported.
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τὸνtonG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶναampelōnavineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
3

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

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai peri tritēn hōran exelthōn eiden allous hestōtas en tē agora argous

Word by word12 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
περὶperiAboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τρίτηνtritēnthe thirdG5154
√ τρίτος — thirdAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
ὥρανhōranhourG5610
√ ὥρα — an "hour" (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ὥρα: an hour Pulpit explains that the twelve hours ran between sunrise and sunset and so varied with the season, the Palestinian day running from about nine hours forty-eight minutes to fourteen hours twelve minutes, which makes each "hour" elastic by up to twenty-two minutes. The parable's clock is a social clock, not an astronomical one.
ἐξελθὼνexelthōnhe went outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
εἶδενeiden[and] sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἄλλουςallousothersG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἑστῶταςhestōtasstandingG2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbPerfect Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἵστημι: to stand (perfect participle) The perfect is the grammatical seed of the whole complaint: these men have a standing, and it is a standing in nothing. The same perfect recurs at v. 6 twice, once as participle and once as a second person plural indicative addressed to them.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ἀγορᾷagoramarketplaceG58
√ ἀγορά — probably akin to G1453 (ἐγείρω))NounDative Feminine Singular
ἀγορά: marketplace Gill takes it for the world "because a place full of people, and of great wickedness" and a place of trade, carnal pleasure and idleness together. Note that the householder does not wait in the vineyard for applicants; he keeps leaving his own property for the public square.
ἀργούςargousdoing nothingG692
√ ἀργός — inactive, iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἀργός: inactive, idle, workless Rare (7 verses), and its force is privative: it says what these men are not doing rather than what they are. The word will be repeated at v. 6 as the last thing said of anyone before they are hired, so the parable's picture of a human being outside the vineyard is simply a negated worker.
4

‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

hymeis kai Hypagete eis ton ampelōna kai eipen ekeinois kai dōsō hymin ho ean ē dikaion

Word by word16 · parsed
ὑμεῖςhymeisYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Plural
καὶkaialsoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὙπάγετεHypagetegoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
ὑπάγω: to withdraw, to go off Present imperative plural here and at v. 7; present imperative singular at v. 14. The verb frames the parable's two movements, into the vineyard and out of the owner's presence.
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸνton[my]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶναampelōnavineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipenhe saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐκείνοιςekeinoisG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounDative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δώσωdōsōI will payG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
δίδωμι: to give Future indicative, "I will give." It is the language of gift, not of settlement, and it is the verb the householder uses again at v. 14 in the infinitive when he states his will. Gill insists the promise "is to be understood, not of strict justice; for in this sense nothing could be given to sinful mortals, for their services."
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ὃhowhateverG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounNominative Neuter Singular
ἐὰνean. . .G1437
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
ᾖēisG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
δίκαιονdikaionrightG1342
√ δίκαιος — equitable (in character or act)AdjectiveNominative Neuter Singular
δίκαιος: equitable, just The pivot of the parable's argument. The owner promises the just thing without naming it, and at v. 13 he can say οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε, "I do you no injustice," using the negated cognate. The complaint of v. 12 is therefore an accusation that he broke the very word he gave as his bond, and the parable's answer is that justice and generosity are one thing in him and two things in the grumbler.
5

So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hoi apēlthon de exelthōn Palin peri hektēn kai enatēn hōran epoiēsen hōsautōs

Word by word13 · parsed
δὲdeSoG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἀπῆλθονapēlthonthey wentG565
√ ἀπέρχομαι — to go off (iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐξελθὼνexelthōnHe went outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ΠάλινPalinagainG3825
√ πάλιν — (adverbially) anew, iAdverb
πάλιν: anew, again The adverb that makes a series out of two episodes, and with it the parable's rhythm becomes the rhythm of an employer who will not stop going out.
περὶperiaboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
ἕκτηνhektēn[the] sixth [hour]G1623
√ ἕκτος — sixthAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐνάτηνenatēn[the] ninthG1766
√ ἔννατος — ninthAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
ὥρανhōranhourG5610
√ ὥρα — an "hour" (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἐποίησενepoiēsen[and] didG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὡσαύτωςhōsautōsthe same thingG5615
√ ὡσαύτως — as thus, iAdverb
ὡσαύτως: in the same way The word does the narrative's compression: two further hirings in one adverb. Gill notes that the three later hours named (third, sixth, ninth) "were the hours of prayer" and cross-refers Acts 2:15; whether that is intended by the parable or found in it by the commentator, the brief does not say.
6

About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Peri tēn hendekatēn exelthōn heuren allous hestōtas Ti hestēkate hōde holēn tēn hēmeran argoi kai legei autois

Word by word18 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΠερὶPeriAboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἑνδεκάτηνhendekatēneleventh [hour]G1734
√ ἑνδέκατος — eleventhAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
ἑνδέκατος: eleventh One of the three rare ordinals in this unit, and the hinge of the plot: JFB calls it "a most unusual hour both for offering and engaging." Gill notes the Persic version read "the twelfth hour" instead, and that the Jews divided the twelve hours into four parts of three hours each, to which "there is a manifest respect in this parable."
ἐξελθὼνexelthōnhe went outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
εὗρενheuren[and] foundG2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εὑρίσκω: to find Aorist. The owner's fifth trip yields not applicants but a remainder.
ἄλλουςallousstill othersG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἑστῶταςhestōtasstanding [around]G2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbPerfect Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ΤίTiWhyG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
ἑστήκατεhestēkatehave you been standingG2476
√ ἵστημι — to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively)VerbPerfect Indicative Active2nd Person Plural
ἵστημι: to stand (perfect indicative) The perfect throws the whole unworked day behind the men as an accomplished fact. Their answer in v. 7 will not dispute the fact, only its cause.
ὧδεhōdehereG5602
√ ὧδε — in this same spot, iAdverb
ὅληνholēnallG3650
√ ὅλος — "whole" or "all", iAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἡμέρανhēmeranday [long]G2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀργοίargoidoing nothingG692
√ ἀργός — inactive, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἀργός: idle, workless Its second and last occurrence in the unit, and the last word said to anyone before they are hired. The parable's diagnosis of the human position outside the vineyard is simply this privative adjective; its remedy is a sentence of two words, "you too."
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγειlegeihe askedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
λέγω: to say (present indicative) A historic present in a chain of aorists, which pulls the exchange into the reader's hearing. The same present carries the owner's words at v. 7 and v. 8.
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
7

‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Hoti oudeis emisthōsato hēmas Legousin autō Legei autois hymeis kai Hypagete eis ton ampelōna

Word by word14 · parsed
ὍτιHotiBecauseG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
οὐδεὶςoudeisno oneG3762
√ οὐδείς — not even one (man, woman or thing), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
οὐδείς: not even one The emphatic negative on which the last workers rest their case. It is the only self-defence anyone offers in the parable, and the owner neither accepts nor rejects it in words.
ἐμισθώσατοemisthōsatohas hiredG3409
√ μισθόω — to let out for wages, iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
μισθόω: to hire for wages (aorist middle) Its second and last occurrence in the unit, and the only one on human lips. The unhired describe their condition with the word the owner used for his intention, which is the parable's quiet claim that no one is idle by choice of vocabulary.
ἡμᾶςhēmasusG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Plural
ΛέγουσινLegousinthey answeredG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΛέγειLegeiSo he toldG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ὑμεῖςhymeisYouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 2nd Person Plural
καὶkaialsoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὙπάγετεHypagetegoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
ὑπάγω: go, take yourselves off Textually this is where the parable is thinnest: Gill reports that the clause "and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive" is absent from the Vulgate, from Munster's Hebrew Gospel and from Beza's most ancient Greek copy, though present in the Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic; Pulpit notes the same omission. The interlinear in this brief has no such clause, so on the text before us the eleventh hour workers are hired with no promise of pay whatever. Pulpit draws the consequence: "they were satisfied by being employed at all."
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸνton[my]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶναampelōnavineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounAccusative Masculine Singular
8

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Opsias genomenēs ho kyrios tou ampelōnos legei tō autou epitropō Kaleson tous ergatas kai apodos autois ton misthon arxamenos apo tōn eschatōn heōs tōn prōtōn

Word by word26 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὈψίαςOpsiaseveningG3798
√ ὄψιος — lateAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Singular
ὄψιος: late, evening Ellicott and Pulpit both read the hour against Deuteronomy 24:15, the Mosaic requirement that a hired man be paid before sundown; Gill quotes the rabbinic formulation of the same law, affirmative and negative precept together. JFB takes the hour of reckoning as "pointing to the day of final account," and Benson as the hour of death for the individual labourer. The text says only that evening came.
γενομένηςgenomenēscameG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Participle MiddleGenitive Feminine Singular
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
κύριοςkyriosownerG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounNominative Masculine Singular
κύριος: lord, supreme in authority The one title in the parable that is not drawn from economics. Its appearance here, at the payment, is why the sources can read the scene as a judgment scene without allegorising any detail: the paymaster is named Lord.
τοῦtouof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶνοςampelōnosvineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounGenitive Masculine Singular
λέγειlegeisaidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τῷtōtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐπιτρόπῳepitropōforemanG2012
√ ἐπίτροπος — a commissioner, iNounDative Masculine Singular
ἐπίτροπος: commissioner, steward Rare (3 verses). Barnes notes he was "commonly the most trusty and faithful of the servants, raised to that station as a reward for his fidelity." That the owner hires in person and pays by an agent is the one structural asymmetry in the story, and JFB is the voice in this brief who makes it christological.
ΚάλεσονKalesonCallG2564
√ καλέω — to "call" (properly, aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
ἐργάταςergatasworkersG2040
√ ἐργάτης — a toilerNounAccusative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπόδοςapodospayG591
√ ἀποδίδωμι — to give away, iVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἀποδίδωμι: to give back, render Aorist imperative. The compound is the reason the parable can hold wage and gift together without contradiction: what is rendered back was the lord's to begin with.
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
τὸνton[their]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
μισθόνmisthonwagesG3408
√ μισθός — pay for service (literally or figuratively), good or badNounAccusative Masculine Singular
μισθός: pay for service, wage The noun behind the verb of vv. 1 and 7, appearing only here, at the moment it is handed over. Strong's notes it covers pay "good or bad," reward or requital alike.
ἀρξάμενοςarxamenosstartingG756
√ ἄρχομαι — to commence (in order of time)VerbAorist Participle MiddleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀπὸapowithG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
τῶνtōntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ἐσχάτωνeschatōnlast [ones hired]G2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ἔσχατος: farthest, final, last Five occurrences in this unit (vv. 8, 12, 14, 16 twice), and this is the first. Barnes sees the reason for the order plainly: "Had those first hired been first paid, they would have departed satisfied, and the point of the parable would have been lost." Pulpit answers more austerely that the order "should be conceived as depending on the lord's good pleasure."
ἕωςheōsand moving onG2193
√ ἕως — a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place)Preposition
τῶνtōnto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
πρώτωνprōtōnfirstG4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
9

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai hoi peri tēn hendekatēn hōran elthontes ana elabon dēnarion

Word by word10 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoi[The workers who were hired]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
περὶperiaboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἑνδεκάτηνhendekatēneleventhG1734
√ ἑνδέκατος — eleventhAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
ὥρανhōranhourG5610
√ ὥρα — an "hour" (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἐλθόντεςelthontescame [and]G2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἀνὰanaeachG303
√ ἀνά — properly, upAdverb
ἀνά: up, and distributively apiece A small word carrying the parable's scandal: the full day's coin is given not to the group but to each man singly. Pulpit notes that some commentators tried to argue the coins differed in value between the groups, calls it "an unwarrantable conjecture," and says the equality of the wage is indispensable to the parable's purport.
ἔλαβονelabonreceivedG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
λαμβάνω: to receive, to take The verb of the whole payment scene. Ellicott reads the coin here as the eternal life of the kingdom, and draws the boundary in both directions: "No true labourer could receive less; the longest life of labour could claim no more."
δηνάριονdēnariona denariusG1220
√ δηνάριον — a denarius (or ten asses)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
δηνάριον: a denarius Its third of four occurrences in the unit (vv. 2, 9, 10, 13). Barnes is careful that "there was no agreement how much they should receive, but merely that justice should be done," and suggests the owner either judged they had earned it or "chose to make a present to them to compensate for the loss of the first part of the day." The text offers no reason at all.
10

So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai hoi prōtoi elthontes enomisan hoti lēmpsontai pleion kai ana autoi kai elabon to dēnarion

Word by word15 · parsed
καὶkaiSo whenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
πρῶτοιprōtoioriginal [workers]G4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
πρῶτος: foremost in time, place, order or importance Note the ambiguity built into the word: these men are first in time of hiring, and the parable's closing line will use the same adjective for first in rank. Their mistake is to slide from one sense to the other.
ἐλθόντεςelthontescameG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐνόμισανenomisanthey assumedG3543
√ νομίζω — properly, to do by law (usage), iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
νομίζω: to suppose by rule or usage The verb that names the parable's real fault line. Ellicott sees the disciples in it: "They too, as their question showed, had been expecting to receive more. Eternal life was not enough for them, without some special prerogative and precedence over others." Barnes reads it more mildly, that they supposed payment would be by time rather than by contract, which is exactly what they had not agreed to.
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
λήμψονταιlēmpsontaithey would receiveG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
πλεῖονpleionmoreG4119
√ πλείων — more in quantity, number, or qualityAdjectiveAccusative Neuter SingularComparative
πλείων: more in quantity, number or quality The comparative that has no stated term. They do not ask for a sum; they ask for a margin over someone else, which is why Bengel's line quoted by Pulpit at v. 12 fits so precisely.
καὶkaiButG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνὰanaeachG303
√ ἀνά — properly, upAdverb
αὐτοίautoiof themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaialsoG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔλαβονelabonreceivedG2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
λαμβάνω: to receive The same verb as v. 9, and the point of the repetition is that nothing whatever was done to the first group. Gill: "they likewise received every man a penny; the selfsame privileges of the Gospel, and a title to the selfsame reward of free grace."
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
δηνάριονdēnariona denariusG1220
√ δηνάριον — a denarius (or ten asses)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
11

On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Labontes egongyzon kata tou oikodespotou

Word by word6 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΛαβόντεςLabontesOn receiving [their pay]G2983
√ λαμβάνω — while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent, to seize or remove))VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐγόγγυζονegongyzonthey began to grumbleG1111
√ γογγύζω — to grumbleVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
γογγύζω: to grumble, mutter The imperfect makes the sound continuous, and the word is the one the Septuagint uses of Israel in the wilderness, which is why Gill can put the murmuring in a history: the believing Jews "were at first uneasy at the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles ... just as the Pharisees, in Christ's time, murmured against him; for receiving sinners, and eating with them." Gill then looks forward: "in the latter day, the envy of Ephraim shall depart."
κατὰkataagainstG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
οἰκοδεσπότουoikodespotoulandownerG3617
√ οἰκοδεσπότης — the head of a familyNounGenitive Masculine Singular
οἰκοδεσπότης: head of a household Its second and last occurrence in the unit, closing the frame opened at v. 1. Barnes is careful that the word "expresses no moral quality": it names an office, and the parable puts the office, not the character, on the receiving end of the complaint.
12

‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Houtoi hoi eschatoi epoiēsan mian hōran legontes kai epoiēsas autous isous hēmin tois bastasasi to baros kai ton kausōna tēs hēmeras

Word by word21 · parsed
ΟὗτοιHoutoiTheseG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounNominative Masculine Plural
οἱhoi[men who were hired]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατοιeschatoilastG2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατος: last Spoken with contempt here. Pulpit: "They speak of the late workers contemptuously, 'these fellows who are last.'" The adjective the lord used neutrally at v. 8 becomes a slur at v. 12 and a promise at v. 16.
ἐποίησανepoiēsanworkedG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
μίανmianonly oneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
ὥρανhōranhourG5610
√ ὥρα — an "hour" (literally or figuratively)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
λέγοντεςlegontesthey saidG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐποίησαςepoiēsasyou have madeG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ποιέω: to make, to do (2nd person singular) The pivot of the accusation: the owner is the subject of the offending verb. Cambridge answers that this "may be regarded as man's estimate of his own merits, which is not the divine estimate," and adds that "the words echo the tone of 'what shall we have?'" at Matthew 19:27.
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἴσουςisousequalG2470
√ ἴσος — similar (in amount and kind)AdjectiveAccusative Masculine Plural
ἴσος: equal in amount and kind Benson hears an apostolic echo: "So indeed St. Peter says, Acts 15:9, God hath put no difference between us (Jews) and them, (Gentiles,) purifying their hearts by faith." Pulpit quotes Bengel's anatomy of the grievance: envy "does not demand more for itself, but wishes that others should have less."
ἡμῖνhēminto usG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Plural
τοῖςtoiswhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
βαστάσασιbastasasihave borneG941
√ βαστάζω — to lift, literally or figuratively (endure, declare, sustain, receive, etcVerbAorist Participle ActiveDative Masculine Plural
βαστάζω: to lift, bear, sustain An aorist participle in the dative, describing the "us" to whom the newcomers were made equal. The murmurers define themselves by what they carried.
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
βάροςbarosburdenG922
√ βάρος — compare G899 (βάθος))NounAccusative Neuter Singular
βάρος: weight, heaviness Gill reads the weight as the ceremonial law, "a yoke of bondage ... which neither they, nor their forefathers, were able to bear," and then extends it to the martyrs under the Roman persecutions and papal cruelty. That is an application of the figure, not a claim about the Greek noun.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
καύσωναkausōnascorching heatG2742
√ καύσων — a glareNounAccusative Masculine Singular
καύσων: burning heat, the scorching wind Rare (3 verses), and the only strictly meteorological word in the parable. JFB glosses it "the burning heat" and adds that these men "have wrought not only longer but during a more trying period of the day." Its two other occurrences (James 1:11, Luke 12:55) and Ellicott's Septuagint reference to Jonah 4:8 make it a word about what withers and what cannot be endured.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ἡμέραςhēmerasdayG2250
√ ἡμέρα — day, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
13

But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Ho apokritheis heni autōn eipen Hetaire ouk adikō se ouchi synephōnēsas moi dēnariou

Word by word14 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀποκριθεὶςapokritheishe answeredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἑνὶhenioneG1520
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
εἷς: one The lord addresses one man, not the group. Pulpit reads him as "the ringleader probably" and JFB as "doubtless the spokesman of the complaining party"; Gill as "the forwardest and loudest." The parable narrows to a single conversation at the moment of answer.
αὐτῶνautōnof themG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
εἶπενeipenG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἙταῖρεHetaireFriendG2083
√ ἑταῖρος — a comradeNounVocative Masculine Singular
ἑταῖρος: comrade Rare (3 verses), and the two other places in Matthew are the wedding guest thrown out and Judas in the garden. To be called comrade in this Gospel is to be addressed courteously from the far side of a line.
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἀδικῶadikōI am not being unfairG91
√ ἀδικέω — to be unjust, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ἀδικέω: to be unjust, to wrong The lord's answer concedes the category the murmurers chose. He does not say generosity is above justice; he says no injustice has occurred, because the only obligation he ever incurred was the one this man negotiated. JFB puts it in his mouth: "You appeal to justice, and by that your mouth is shut."
σεseto youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 2nd Person Singular
οὐχὶouchivvvG3780
√ οὐχί — not indeedIntPrtcl
συνεφώνησάςsynephōnēsasDid you not agreeG4856
√ συμφωνέω — to be harmonious, iVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
συμφωνέω: to sound together, agree Second and last occurrence in the unit, closing the loop with v. 2. Gill devotes his note to the rabbinic rules on hiring through an agent, where "the murmuring is against the messenger," and concludes that "the argument in the parable proceeds upon the agreement, which ought to be abode by."
μοιmoiwith meG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
δηναρίουdēnariouon one denariusG1220
√ δηνάριον — a denarius (or ten asses)NounGenitive Neuter Singular
14

Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

aron son to kai hypage de thelō dounai toutō tō eschatō hōs kai soi

Word by word14 · parsed
ἆρονaronTakeG142
√ αἴρω — to lift upVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
αἴρω: to lift up, take away An aorist imperative paired with the present imperative ὕπαγε, "be off." Gill hears a dismissal in it, "which looks like a dismissal from his service, and after privileges." Ellicott raises the question the text leaves open: if the coin is eternal life, did the murmurers receive it, or was it "as 'fairy-gold' that turned to a withered leaf in the hands of its thankless possessor?"
σὸνsonyourG4674
√ σός — thinePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Neuter 2nd Person Singular
τὸto[pay]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὕπαγεhypagegoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ὑπάγω: go, take yourself off The third and last use of the verb that called the workers in at vv. 4 and 7. The same word hires and discharges.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
θέλωthelōI wantG2309
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
θέλω: to will, to determine The theological centre of the lord's reply. He does not argue desert; he states will. Ellicott answers the difficulty by locating the reward in a state rather than a sum: "Heaven is not a place, but a state ... It is only perfect when their charity is like His."
δοῦναιdounaito giveG1325
√ δίδωμι — to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figurativelyVerbAorist Infinitive Active
τούτῳtoutōthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Masculine Singular
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἐσχάτῳeschatōlast [man]G2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
ἔσχατος: last Singular here, and pointed with a demonstrative: "to this last one." The abstraction of v. 8 has become a man standing in the room.
ὡςhōsthe same asG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
καὶkai[I gave]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
σοίsoiyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
15

Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

ē ouk exestin moi poiēsai ho thelō en tois emois ē estin sou ho ophthalmos ponēros hoti egō eimi agathos

Word by word20 · parsed
ἢēvvvG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
οὐκoukvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἔξεστίνexestinDo I not have the rightG1832
√ ἔξεστι — so also neuter present participle of the same (with or without some form of G1510 (εἰμί) expressed)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἔξεστι: it is permitted, lawful The impersonal form matters. The owner does not claim a prerogative above law; he asks whether law forbids generosity. Ellicott: "He was responsible to God only," and in the parable's interpretation "God was Himself the Householder."
μοιmoi. . .G1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Singular
ποιῆσαιpoiēsaito doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
ὃhoasG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
θέλωthelōI pleaseG2309
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
θέλω: to will Second occurrence in two verses, and the parable's last statement of the owner's freedom before the closing line.
ἐνenwithG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoiswhat [is]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
ἐμοῖςemoismineG1699
√ ἐμός — myPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Neuter 1st Person Plural
ἢēOrG2228
√ ἤ — disjunctive, orConjunction
ἐστινestinare youG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
σουsou. . .G4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 2nd Person Singular
ὁho. . .G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ὀφθαλμόςophthalmos. . .G3788
√ ὀφθαλμός — the eye (literally or figuratively)NounNominative Masculine Singular
ὀφθαλμός: the eye The organ the parable makes into a moral faculty. Barnes explains why: "No passions are so fully expressed by the eye as these." Ellicott adds the folk belief that such a glance carried power to injure, "to be averted ... by charms and amulets," and Cambridge that "the belief in the evil eye still prevails in the East." Pulpit cites Cicero's derivation of invidia from looking too much at another's fortune (Tusc. Disp. 3.9).
πονηρόςponērosenviousG4190
√ πονηρός — hurtful, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
πονηρός: hurtful, evil A Hebrew idiom rendered word for word into Greek: Barnes cites Deuteronomy 15:9 and Proverbs 23:6, Ellicott adds Proverbs 28:22 and Mark 7:22, Geneva refers to Matthew 6:22-23 where the same adjective opposes the single eye. Henry's definition is the plainest in the brief: "It is an evil eye, which is displeased at the good of others, and desires their hurt."
ὅτιhotibecauseG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
εἰμιeimiamG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ἀγαθόςagathosgenerousG18
√ ἀγαθός — "good" (in any sense, often as noun)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
ἀγαθός: good The final word of the lord's speech, and the sharpest. The question is not whether the wage was correct but whether goodness in another is bearable. Gill: "Men are apt to complain of God, and charge his procedures in providence and grace, with inequality and injustice; whereas he does, as he may, all things according to his sovereign will, and never contrary to justice, truth, and goodness."
16

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Houtōs hoi eschatoi esontai prōtoi kai hoi prōtoi eschatoi

Word by word9 · parsed
ΟὕτωςHoutōsSoG3779
√ οὕτω — in this way (referring to what precedes or follows)Adverb
οὕτω: in this way The adverb that makes the line a conclusion rather than a proverb. Barnes: "This is the moral or scope of the parable. 'To teach this it was spoken.'"
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατοιeschatoilastG2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατος: last Its fourth and fifth occurrences in the unit (vv. 8, 12, 14, 16 twice). The word has travelled from the lord's neutral instruction, through the murmurers' contempt, to a promise. JFB's reading of that promise is the sternest in the brief: those who came in late may be given "such a humble frame, and such admiration of the grace that has hired and rewarded them at all, as will put them into the foremost place in the end."
ἔσονταιesontaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
πρῶτοιprōtoifirstG4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
πρῶτος: foremost in time, place, order or importance Poole records both of the ancient options for this word: some take the first as "such as are of greatest repute and estimation in the world, or who have the highest opinion of themselves," others as the Jews, "who were the first people God had in the world." Poole himself judges the second "directly intended by our Saviour." Ellicott, Cambridge and Barnes keep the saying on the disciples instead. The Greek adjective sustains all of these and selects none.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
πρῶτοιprōtoifirstG4413
√ πρῶτος — foremost (in time, place, order or importance)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατοιeschatoi[will be] lastG2078
√ ἔσχατος — farthest, final (of place or time)AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἔσχατος: last The unit's final word, and it has no verb of its own. The parable ends on an adjective, not on a verdict.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. Five times out of his own gate — 1-7

⚙ The verb the parable repeats is not "work" but ἐξέρχομαι: the householder goes out at dawn (v. 1), about the third hour (v. 3), again about the sixth and ninth (v. 5), and about the eleventh (v. 6). Five exits, one vineyard. Ellicott names the framework precisely: the men hired are not the household slaves but "the 'hired servants' of Luke 15:17, engaged for a time only, and paid by the day," and he reads the householder as Christ Himself, a title he "seems to have, as it were, delighted in" (Matthew 10:25; 13:27; 13:52). Barnes and JFB both note that the chapter break is an accident of editing: the parable exists to prove the sentence at Matthew 19:30, and JFB adds that it answers Peter's question at 19:27 about those "who, like himself, had left all for Christ." On the vineyard itself the brief's voices are unanimous and slightly divided: Ellicott takes it as "primarily, as in Isaiah 5:1, the house of Israel"; JFB lists Psalm 80:8-16, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 2:21, Luke 20:9-16 and John 15:1-8; Cambridge simply glosses "workers for the Church of Christ." And the terms differ by hour: the dawn workers συμφωνήσας, struck a concord for a denarius (v. 2), the third hour men were promised "whatever is just" (v. 4), and on the text this brief's interlinear follows, the eleventh hour men were promised nothing at all (v. 7). Ellicott draws the conclusion the grammar supports: the later hiring "involved an implicit trust in the equity of the householder" and "a little work done, when God calls us, in the spirit of trust, is better than much done in the spirit of a hireling."

ii. Evening, and the order that makes the trouble — 8-10

⚙ At v. 8 the figure changes name. He has been οἰκοδεσπότης, house-master; now he is κύριος, lord, and he gives two imperatives, call and give back. Ellicott notes that in paying at sundown he keeps "one of the humane rules of the Mosaic law" (Deuteronomy 24:15), and that his keeping it "is a feature in his character"; Gill quotes the rabbinic statement of the same law as affirmative and negative precept together. JFB reads the hour as "the reckoning time between masters and laborers," pointing to the day of final account, and calls the instruction that follows a remarkable direction. Barnes gives the narrative reason for it without allegory: had the first hired been paid first, "they would have departed satisfied, and the point of the parable would have been lost." Pulpit refuses even that much and grounds the order in the lord's good pleasure alone. Then v. 9 pays a full denarius for one hour, and Ellicott draws the sentence the parable turns on: "The standard of payment was qualitative, not quantitative." Gill, reading the coin as the shared inheritance, argues at length that in glory "it will be alike, complete and perfect in all." Benson demurs in the same brief: there are degrees of glory, though "every vessel will be full, though every vessel be not alike large and capacious."

iii. The muttering, and the thing they were actually asking for — 10-12

⚙ ἐγόγγυζον (v. 11) is imperfect: Ellicott observes from the tense that they murmured "with repeated and prolonged murmurs." What they say is exact and, at the level of arithmetic, true: these worked one hour, καὶ ἴσους ἡμῖν ἐποίησας, "and you made them equal to us." Pulpit quotes Bengel's diagnosis, that envy "does not demand more for itself, but wishes that others should have less," and notes that they will not even grant the newcomers the verb of working, speaking of them contemptuously as "these fellows who are last." Ellicott hears the disciples in it: "They too, as their question showed, had been expecting to receive more. Eternal life was not enough for them, without some special prerogative and precedence over others." JFB is blunter, calling it "that calculating, mercenary spirit which had peeped out" in Peter's question. Cambridge weighs the claim to have borne the burden and the scorching heat and answers that it "may be regarded as man's estimate of his own merits, which is not the divine estimate," while Gill, in the brief's most historically situated reading, hears in the burden and the καύσωνα the whole weight of the ceremonial law. Ellicott adds the lexical fact that grounds Gill's heat: the word for heat is used at James 1:11 and in the Septuagint of Jonah 4:8 for the burning wind that follows sunrise.

iv. Comrade: the answer that does not comfort — 13-15

⚙ The address is Ἑταῖρε, and it is cold. Ellicott notes the word "always carries with it in our Lord's lips a tone of reproof," used to the man without a wedding garment (Matthew 22:12) and to Judas (Matthew 26:50); Cambridge calls it a word "used of any temporary connection, without the idea of affectionate friendship." The defence has three parts and only the first is an argument from justice: οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε, I do you no injustice, because συνεφώνησας, you struck the concord yourself. The second is dismissal, and Pulpit catches the mood of θέλω δέ exactly: "but it is my will to give." The third is the question that has no answer in the text, is your eye evil because I am good. Barnes supplies the Hebrew idiom: "The Hebrews used the word evil, when applied to the eye, to denote one envious and malicious, Deuteronomy 15:9; Proverbs 23:6," and Ellicott adds Proverbs 28:22 and the popular belief in the eye's power to injure. Geneva, the most economical voice in the brief, glosses simply that by an evil eye "the Hebrews mean envy." What deserves noting is that Pulpit, alone among these commentators, declines to pretend the answer settles anything: "Nor is the master's solution perfect; it would scarcely commend itself to the dissatisfied murmurer. And doubtless it is not intended to be complete."

v. So the last first, and what the sources will not agree on — 16

⚙ The closing line inverts the pair one more time, and here the brief's voices diverge as widely as anywhere in the canon. Barnes restricts the parable to a single truth about differing usefulness within the church and warns that "where Jesus has explained it, we have no right to add to it." Henry, Benson, Gill and Poole all read it of Jew and Gentile: Poole says the murmuring "primarily and immediately signifies the envy and vexation of the Jews, that the Gentiles should be equal partakers of the grace of God with themselves." Ellicott keeps it on the disciples and traces a "latent reference to the 'young ruler' whom the disciples had hastily condemned." Pulpit lays out the individual reading, hour by hour of a human life, and notes that the proverbial force of "the eleventh hour" in English shows how widely that reading has prevailed. JFB presses the sharpest warning: those who have worked all their days may, by the spirit they show at the last, "make it too evident that, as between God and their own souls, they never were chosen workmen at all." On the clause about many called and few chosen the brief's voices openly contradict each other, Cambridge judging the words "probably interpolated" and Pulpit "most probably genuine"; the BSB text and interlinear this unit is built on do not contain it.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Under Sola Scriptura, and offered to be tested: the parable is not about how much work earns how much wage. It is about what a denarius is. The first workers set a price on their day and got it; the last set no price at all (on this text they were given no figure, only a vineyard) and got the same. Nothing was subtracted from anyone. What the first men lost was not money but the capacity to receive a wage as anything other than a settlement, and the Greek shows the loss happening: they ἐνόμισαν, they reckoned (v. 10), they calculated a proportion out of another man's generosity, and from that moment the coin in their hand was small. The householder's last question is therefore not a deflection. Is your eye evil because I am good asks whether the goodness of God can be looked at directly, or only measured against a neighbour. Barnes is right that no one is cheated and Pulpit is right that this does not console the man who feels cheated, and I think the parable intends that gap to stay open: it ends on a reversal, not on a justification. Two things I will not claim. I will not claim the parable teaches that all rewards are identical, because Benson's objection from the rest of the New Testament stands unanswered in this brief and Gill's counter-argument is an inference, not an exegesis of these sixteen verses. And I will not claim to know whether the eleventh hour men are the Gentiles, or late converts, or the dying thief: Ellicott, Henry, Barnes, Gill, Cambridge, Pulpit and Poole distribute those readings among themselves and the text names none of them. What the text names is a man who kept walking out of his own gate until there was no one left standing in the square. The pull quote below is a machine line, not a verse.

The wage never measured the work; it measured the householder, and that is precisely what the first men could not bear to be paid in.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The vineyard that was already a name for Israel structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ Before it is a parable's stage set, ἀμπελών is a prophetic name. Ellicott: the vineyard is "primarily, as in Isaiah 5:1, the house of Israel, which the Anointed of the Lord had come to claim as His kingdom." JFB says the figure "is familiar to every reader of the Bible" and lists Psalm 80:8-16, Isaiah 5:1-7 and Jeremiah 2:21; Barnes sends the reader to Isaiah 5:7 and Jeremiah 12:10; Pulpit cites Psalm 80:8, Isaiah 5:1 and Jeremiah 12:10; Poole cites Isaiah 5:1-2. The parable's twist is that in Isaiah the vineyard is judged for bad fruit, while here it is the workers who are judged for a bad eye.

Isaiah 5:1-7 · Psalm 80:8-16 · Jeremiah 12:10

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek ἀμπελών G290 against Hebrew vineyard vocabulary), so no shared Strong's number can be recorded and no verbal tier is possible. The basis is the motif itself, named independently by Ellicott (Isaiah 5:1), JFB (Psalm 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:1-7), Barnes (Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 12:10), Pulpit and Poole. No quotation is claimed.

Matthew's other vineyards, and the same householder structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ This is the first of three vineyard parables in the next two chapters of Matthew, and the vocabulary is shared, not merely the subject. Barnes explicitly refers the reader from v. 1 to Matthew 21:33 for the construction of such a vineyard; Gill cross-refers Matthew 21:28 for sons who are sent and work. The householder who goes out and the vineyard he owns recur; what changes is who wrongs whom.

Matthew 21:28 · Matthew 21:33

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G290 ἀμπελών (in 21 vv) and G3617 οἰκοδεσπότης (in 12 vv) at Matthew 21:33, plus G290 twice with G5217 ὑπάγω (in 75 vv) at Matthew 21:28. Same-Testament and so verbal-eligible, but deliberately tiered structural: shared vocabulary inside one motif is not a quotation, and neither lexeme is rare enough to carry a quotation-grade claim.

Paid before the sun goes down structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ That the lord pays at evening (v. 8) is not narrative convenience; it is obedience to a named statute. Ellicott: "It was one of the humane rules of the Mosaic law that the day-labourer was to be paid by the day, and not made to wait for his wages (Deuteronomy 24:15). This law the householder keeps, and his doing so is a feature in his character." JFB cites the same text; Pulpit repeats it; Gill quotes the rabbinic ruling that withholding past sundown transgresses a negative precept. The lord who is accused of injustice in v. 12 has already kept the one law of labour the Torah writes for hired men.

Leviticus 19:13 · Deuteronomy 24:14-15

basis: Cross-Testament: no shared Strong's number is possible between the Greek of Matthew 20:8 and the Hebrew of the wage laws. The recorded basis is the legal requirement itself, cited to Deuteronomy 24:15 by Ellicott, JFB, Pulpit and Gill (Gill also quoting the rabbinic codification). Leviticus 19:13 is the parallel statute; no quotation is claimed.

Comrade: the three men Jesus calls ἑταῖρε in Matthew verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ The vocative at v. 13 is not warmth. Ellicott notes it is addressed to the man without a wedding garment (Matthew 22:12) and to Judas at the betrayal (Matthew 26:50), and that in our Lord's lips it "always carries with it a tone of reproof"; Cambridge and Pulpit independently name the same two places. Three men in Matthew are called comrade, and each is being told, courteously, that he has put himself outside.

Matthew 22:12 · Matthew 26:50

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G2083 ἑταῖρος (in 3 vv). These two refs are its only other occurrences, all three in Matthew, so the link is same-Testament and lexically exclusive. No quotation is claimed; the confirmed item is the rare shared word.

καύσων: the burning wind, and its only other two verses verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ The workers' "scorching heat" (v. 12) is a specific word for a specific wind. Ellicott: it is used "as in James 1:11, and the LXX of Jonah 4:8, for the 'burning wind' that often follows on the sunrise, and makes the labour of the first half of the day harder than that of the latter." The Verifier finds the same lexeme at James 1:11 and Luke 12:55, which together with this verse exhaust its occurrences. In James it withers the grass and the rich man with it; in Luke it is the south wind whose coming the crowd can read but whose time they cannot.

James 1:11 · Luke 12:55

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G2742 καύσων (in 3 vv). Matthew 20:12, James 1:11 and Luke 12:55 are the whole set, all Greek and all New Testament. Ellicott independently names James 1:11. No quotation is claimed; the rare lexeme is the link.

Jonah, who was angry that latecomers were spared structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The two halves of the murmurers' grievance meet in one chapter of the prophets. Ellicott records that the Septuagint of Jonah 4:8 uses this very Greek word for the burning east wind that beat on Jonah's head; and the chapter's whole quarrel is the quarrel of v. 12, a servant of God enraged that mercy was given to those who came in at the end. Jonah is asked a closing question he never answers, and so is the comrade of v. 13.

Jonah 4:8 · Jonah 4:11

basis: Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's number is recordable and the tier cannot be verbal: the only verbal contact is at the level of Septuagint translation, where Ellicott records that the LXX of Jonah 4:8 renders the burning wind by the same Greek word (καύσων, G2742) used here. The thematic basis, a prophet angry at mercy shown to latecomers, is Jonah 4 in full. No quotation is claimed.

ἐπίτροπος: the steward set over another's house verbal / quotation: confirmed

⚙ The lord hires in person but pays through an agent, and the word for that agent is rare. JFB identifies him with Christ Himself, "as a Son over His own house," citing Hebrews 3:6 alongside Matthew 11:27 and John 3:35 and 5:27. The Verifier finds the lexeme only at Galatians 4:2, where the heir under age is under guardians and stewards until the appointed time, and Luke 8:3, where Chuza is Herod's steward. ⚙ The Galatians occurrence is suggestive for a parable about appointed hours, but I claim no more than the shared word.

Galatians 4:2 · Luke 8:3

basis: Verifier: shared rare Greek lexeme G2012 ἐπίτροπος (in 3 vv); Matthew 20:8, Galatians 4:2 and Luke 8:3 are its only occurrences, all New Testament Greek. No quotation is claimed. The christological identification of the steward is JFB's, not part of the lexical basis.

συμφωνέω: agreeing together, for good and for ruin structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ The verb of the wage agreement (v. 2) and of the lord's defence (v. 13) is rare, and its other uses are startling company. At Matthew 18:19 two who agree together on earth are promised a hearing in heaven; at Acts 5:9 Peter asks Ananias and Sapphira how it is that they agreed together to tempt the Spirit. The same word covers concord that is answered and concord that is fatal. ⚙ The parable's grumbler is undone by an agreement he himself made, which is the risk this verb carries everywhere it appears.

Matthew 18:19 · Acts 5:9

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4856 συμφωνέω (in 6 vv), occurring twice inside this unit (vv. 2, 13) and listed by the Verifier at Matthew 18:19, Luke 5:36, Acts 5:9 and Acts 15:15, all New Testament Greek. Deliberately downgraded from verbal for consistency with the ἀργός thread below: at 6 verses the lexeme is uncommon but I decline a quotation-grade tier where no citation or echo is involved, and where the link is a shared idea of concord rather than a borrowed phrase.

The evil eye of the Hebrew Scriptures structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ "Is your eye evil" is not a Greek idiom but a Hebrew one carried into Greek. Barnes: "The Hebrews used the word evil, when applied to the eye, to denote one envious and malicious, Deuteronomy 15:9; Proverbs 23:6." Ellicott adds Proverbs 28:22 and notes the popular belief that such a glance carried power to injure. Geneva cross-refers Matthew 6:22-23, where the single and the evil eye are set against each other. Deuteronomy 15:9 is the sharpest of the parallels: there the grudging eye is turned on a poor brother precisely because release is near.

Deuteronomy 15:9 · Proverbs 23:6 · Proverbs 28:22

basis: Cross-Testament: the Greek ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός (G3788 with G4190) cannot share a Strong's number with the Hebrew idiom, so no verbal tier is available. The recorded basis is the idiom, cited to Deuteronomy 15:9 and Proverbs 23:6 by Barnes and to Proverbs 28:22 by Ellicott, with Geneva adding the internal parallel at Matthew 6:22-23. No quotation is claimed.

The frame the chapter break hides structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ This unit is a proof, and the thing it proves stands in the previous chapter. Barnes: the word "for" in v. 1 shows the chapter should not have been divided, since the parable "was spoken expressly to illustrate the sentiment in the last verse of that chapter." Ellicott calls the division "singularly unfortunate" and ties the parable to the young ruler and to the disciples' claim for themselves; JFB, Cambridge, Pulpit and Benson all route it through Peter's "what shall we have therefore?" Read without the frame, v. 16 is a riddle; read with it, it is an answer to a question about precedence.

Matthew 19:27 · Matthew 19:30

basis: Not present in the Verifier candidate list, so no computed lexeme basis is recorded and none is claimed here. The basis is the unanimous testimony of Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, JFB, Cambridge, Pulpit and Poole in this brief that v. 1 continues Matthew 19:30 and answers Matthew 19:27. Any verbal link through the ἔσχατος and πρῶτος pair is left unasserted because the brief supplies no interlinear for Matthew 19:30.

Standing idle: a word with a short list structural / thematic: confirmed

⚙ ἀργός, the privative adjective that describes every worker before he is hired (vv. 3, 6), is uncommon. The Verifier finds it at 1 Timothy 5:13, of younger widows who go about idle, and at Matthew 12:36, of every idle word for which account will be given. ⚙ The parable and those two verses share a judgment that idleness is not neutral, but I record this as a shared word inside a shared theme and nothing stronger.

1 Timothy 5:13 · Matthew 12:36

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G692 ἀργός (in 7 vv), twice in 1 Timothy 5:13 and once at Matthew 12:36, all New Testament. Deliberately downgraded from verbal: at 7 verses the lexeme is uncommon but not rare enough to carry a quotation-grade claim, and no citation or echo is involved.

Many called, few chosen: a link that exists only on the longer text flagged: verify source

⚙ Seven of the ten commentators in this brief expound a clause at the end of v. 16, "for many be called, but few chosen," which the BSB text and the interlinear of this unit do not contain. If it is genuine here, it is verbally identical with Matthew 22:14 and the link is beyond dispute; if it is not, there is no link at all and the sentence belongs only to the parable of the wedding feast. Ellicott says the better manuscripts omit it here and refers the exposition to Matthew 22:14 as "the fitting place"; Cambridge judges the words "probably interpolated"; Pulpit calls them "most probably genuine" and notes that some editors expunged them "from not seeing its applicability." ⚙ I therefore record the thread and flag it rather than tier it, and no note or divergence in this unit rests on the clause.

Matthew 22:14

basis: Provenance of the text itself is contested inside this brief. The clause is absent from the BSB verse text and from the interlinear word list for Matthew 20:16 (which ends at ἔσχατοι), so no Verifier lexeme basis can be computed for it here; Ellicott (better MSS omit), Cambridge (probably interpolated) and the א and B witnesses reported by Pulpit stand against Ellicott's own hesitancy, Pulpit's judgment of genuineness, and the text used by Benson, JFB, Gill, Geneva and Poole. Verify the reading before treating the identity with Matthew 22:14 as a link in this unit.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The householder is the one telling the parable ancient/widely-held

✦ Ellicott takes the householder to be "our Lord Himself," noting that οἰκοδεσπότης is a title He "seems to have, as it were, delighted in," and applies to Himself at Matthew 10:25, 13:27 and 13:52. Gill extends it: "He is master of the whole family of God, in heaven, and in earth." ⚙ If that is right, then the five goings out of vv. 1 to 6 are not a plot device but a self-portrait, and the vineyard of Isaiah 5 has an owner who now walks out of its gate into the public square five times in one day rather than wait in it for workers to apply. The parable's picture of grace is locomotive before it is financial: the initiative is always an exit.

Matthew 10:25 · Isaiah 5:1

A Son over His own house, paying out the wage ancient/widely-held

✦ JFB reads the steward of v. 8 as "answering to Christ Himself, represented 'as a Son over His own house'," citing Hebrews 3:6 with Matthew 11:27, John 3:35 and John 5:27. Gill reaches the same place by another road: the steward is "Christ; who has not only all the stores of grace in his hand ... but also eternal life and happiness in his possession for them," and it is He who "the righteous judge, and faithful steward, will give at the day of judgment." ⚙ Both voices are drawn by the same structural fact, that the one who authorises the wage and the one who hands it over are distinguished in the story and united in dignity, and by John 5:27, where judgment is committed to the Son. The identification is an inference from the parable's shape rather than a statement of its text, and the brief offers no dissenting voice on it.

Hebrews 3:6 · John 5:27

The last man, and the last man ancient/widely-held

✦ Ellicott presses the parable to its sharpest christological point at v. 13: "No disciple who had entered into his Master's spirit would grudge the repentant thief his rest in Paradise (Luke 23:43). No consistent Christian thinks that he ought to have some special reward because he sees a death-bed repentance crowned by a peace ... as full and assured as his own." ⚙ The thief is hired at the eleventh hour and paid first, and he is paid by a man being executed beside him. That is the parable's own order (v. 8) enacted at the one place where the householder is not distributing from abundance but from the cross. Benson, reading the same verses, stops short of Ellicott's universal equality and insists on degrees of glory; ⚙ the reading offered here needs only that the latecomer receive the whole thing, not that no one receive more.

Luke 23:43 · Matthew 20:8

Because I am good: the freedom that Paul had to defend novel

✦ Geneva puts the doctrine in one sentence at v. 1: "God is bound to no man, and therefore he calls whoever and whenever he desires," adding the warning not "curiously" to examine the judgments of God. Gill draws the same conclusion from v. 15 at length: heaven and glory "is his own, of his own preparing and giving," disposed "according to his sovereign good will and pleasure," and no one is wronged. ⚙ That is the logic of Exodus 33:19, where the Lord's answer to a request to see His glory is the announcement that He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and of Romans 9:15-16, where Paul answers the charge of injustice with that same verse rather than with a calculation. The householder's closing question is the parable's version of Paul's: the objection is not refuted, it is referred to the goodness of the giver. ⚙ Marked novel, and precisely here is why: the doctrine of God's sovereign freedom in mercy is ancient and is held outright by Geneva and Gill in this brief, but neither of them, nor any other voice here, cites Exodus 33:19 or Romans 9 at this verse. The two cross-references are mine, offered to be tested, and Barnes and Pulpit reach the parable's end without invoking election at all.

Exodus 33:19 · Romans 9:15-16

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit, ordered by kind.

Text. Three places in these sixteen verses are textually unsettled, and the brief's own voices disagree about all three. (1) At v. 6 the adjective ἀργοί ("idle") is present in the interlinear this synthesis is built on, but Gill reports it absent from the Vulgate, the Arabic and Ethiopic versions and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and Pulpit says it "is omitted in some manuscripts"; the reproach in the householder's question depends partly on it. (2) At v. 7 the clause "and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive" appears in Gill's and Geneva's text but not in the BSB or the interlinear here; Gill says it is missing from the Vulgate, Munster and Beza's most ancient Greek copy, and Pulpit notes the same. Every statement in this synthesis that the eleventh hour men were hired with no stated terms rests on the shorter text and would be wrong on the longer one. (3) At v. 16 the clause "for many be called, but few chosen" is absent from the BSB text and from the interlinear, so it lies outside this unit's verse data, yet Ellicott, Benson, JFB, Gill, Geneva, Poole and Pulpit all comment on it. Cambridge judges it "omitted in the best MSS ... probably interpolated"; Pulpit judges it "most probably genuine" and says some editors expunged it "from not seeing its applicability." Ellicott notes the better manuscripts omit it here. This synthesis therefore reports the clause as a voice-level matter and writes no note or divergence on it.

Sources. The hour reckoning is not agreed: Ellicott puts the third hour at 8 a.m., while Barnes, JFB, Gill and Pulpit put it at 9 a.m.; Pulpit adds that the Jewish hour varied with the season by up to twenty-two minutes, so exactness here is false precision. The value of the denarius is likewise reported differently: Ellicott makes it about half a crown of his currency by purchasing power, Henry and Gill sevenpence halfpenny, Barnes 15 to 17 cents, and Pulpit about a French franc. These are nineteenth century equivalences and none of them is a translation. Gill's entry quotes Mishnah, Maimonides and Talmud passages by his own citations; they are reproduced as his testimony, not independently checked here. Gill's entries at vv. 1, 8 and 12, Benson's at v. 1, and Poole's at v. 16 were capped in the brief, so material beyond the cap was not consulted. One oddity in the source text itself: Poole's note at v. 16 cites the verse he is expounding as "Acts 20:16," plainly an error for Matthew 20:16 in the transmitted text of his Annotations; the quotation used from him does not depend on it.

Verifier candidates. The highest scoring candidate returned for this unit was Revelation 21:20 (0.84), on the shared lexemes G1623 ἕκτος, G1766 ἔννατος and G1734 ἑνδέκατος. That is an artifact of ordinal numerals: Revelation 21 is numbering foundation stones and Matthew 20 is numbering hours of a working day. No thread is built on it, and it should not be counted a link merely because the score is high. Matthew 18:28 (denarius) and Luke 5:36 and Acts 15:15 (συμφωνέω) were likewise left unused as thematically inert here, though Cambridge does cross-refer Matthew 18:28 for the coin.

What is uncertain in the reading. The brief contains a genuine doctrinal disagreement this synthesis has not resolved and has not hidden: Gill argues at length from v. 9 that glory will be "alike, complete and perfect in all," while Benson warns explicitly that taking the parable to teach equal rewards "would be to make the parable contradict a vast variety of the plainest passages of the New Testament," and Ellicott and Barnes also allow differences of degree. Both positions are recorded; the sola-reading declines to decide. Likewise the referent of the eleventh hour is left open: Henry, Benson, Gill and Poole read Jew and Gentile, Ellicott and Cambridge read the disciples and later apostles, Pulpit and Benson also read the ages of a single life, and Barnes rejects all three in favour of differing usefulness within the church. The parable names none of them. The sola-pullquote is a machine line, not a verse.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)