When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Parallel Translations
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When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
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And he agreed with the labourers for a peny a daye and sent them into his vyneyarde.
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And he agreed with the labourers for a peny a day, and sent them into his vineyard.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Matthew 20:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
- Matthew 22:19 Show me the tax money.” They brought to him a denarius.
- Luke 10:35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’
- 2 Timothy 3:15 From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
- Deuteronomy 5:27-30 Go near, and hear all that Yahweh our God shall say, and tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you; and we will hear it, and do it.” Yahweh heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me; and Yahweh said to me, “I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have well said all that they have spoken. Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! “Go tell them, ‘Return to your tents.’
- 1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.
- 1 Samuel 2:26 The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh and also with men.
- 1 Samuel 16:11-12 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” He said, “There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”
- 1 Kings 3:6-11 Solomon said, “You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you. You have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am just a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in. Your servant is among your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can’t be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this great people of yours?” This request pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have you asked for riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;
- 1 Kings 18:12 It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that Yahweh’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared Yahweh from my youth.
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them;”
- Matthew 18:28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
- Matthew 20:13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?
- Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
- Revelation 6:6 I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”
- 1 Samuel 3:1 The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.
- 1 Samuel 3:21 Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Word for word, fell in time: it is a…
Word for word, fell in time: it is a kind of speech taken from song.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers…
2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Ver. 2. For a penny a day] Not for eternal life (for this those murmuring merit mongers never had, who yet had their penny), but something (whatever it were) that gave the labourers good content; that it was for which each of them followed Christ, whether for food perishing, or enduring, Joh 6:27.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when he had agreed with the labourers for…
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day,.... These labourers were of that sort that were called , "hired for a day"; concerning whom is the following rule (q):
"he that is hired for a day, may demand it all the night; and he that is hired for a night may demand it all the day: he that is hired for hours, may demand it all the night, and all the day; he that is hired for a week, he that is hired for a month, he that is hired for a year, he that is hired for seven, if he goes out in the day, may demand all the day; and if he goes out in the night, he may demand it all the night, and all the day.''
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And the wages of a day were usually "a penny"; which, if understood of a Roman penny, was seven pence halfpenny of our money. One of their canons runs thus (r):
"he that hires a labourer in the winter, to work with him in the summer, , "for a penny every day", and he gives him his hire; and, lo! his hire is alike to that in the winter, a "sela" every day, this is forbidden; because it looks as if he chose that time to lessen his wages; but if he says to him, work with me from this day, to such a time, "for a penny every day", though his hire is the same, a "sela" every day, this is lawful.''
By the penny a day agreed for with the labourers, may be meant external privileges; or the free promise made, whether to ministers, or private believers, of a sufficient supply of grace daily, that as their day is, their strength shall be; together with that of eternal life and happiness at last.
He sent them into his vineyard; to labour there: for none have any business there, but such who are called and sent by the owner of it; and where sons are sent, and work, as well as servants; see Mat 21:28.
(q) Misna Bava Metzia, c. 9. sect. 11. Maimen Hilch. Shericut, c. 11. sect. 2. (r) Maimon. Hilch. Milvah Ulavah, c. 7. sect. 12. Vid. T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 86. 2. & 87. 1. & Gloss. in ib.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The Roman penny was about seven pence halfpenny. [About…
The Roman penny was about seven pence halfpenny. [About thirteen and three quarter cents, American.] This was then the usual price of a day's labour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. A penny] A Roman coin, as noted…
Verse 2. A penny] A Roman coin, as noted before, Mt 18:28, worth about seven-pence halfpenny or seven-pence three farthings of our money, and equal to the Greek drachma. This appears to have been the ordinary price of a day's labour at that time. See Tobit 5:14. In 1351 the price of labour was regulated in this country by parliament; and it is remarkable that "corn-weeders and hay-makers, without meat, drink, or other courtesy demanded," were to have one penny per day! In 1314 the pay of a chaplain to the Scotch bishops, who were then prisoners in England, was three halfpence per day. See Fleetwood's Chronicon Precios, p. 123, 129. This was miserable wages, though things at that time were so cheap that twenty-four eggs were sold for a penny, p. 72; a pair of shoes for four-pence, p. 71; a fat goose for two-pence halfpenny, p. 72; a hen for a penny, p. 72; eight bushels of wheat for two shillings, and a fat ox for six shillings and eight-pence! Ibid. In 1336, wheat per quarter, 2s.; a fat sheep 6d.; fat goose, 2d. and a pig, 1d.,p. 75.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mat 20:2-4. And when he had agreed with the…
Mat 20:2-4. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day — “A denarius, or Roman penny, in value about seven and one half pence sterling, which it seems was the usual price of a day’s service among the Jews, as Tacitus tells us it was among the Romans, (Annal., Mat 1:17.) It is therefore justly mentioned, Rev 6:6, as a proof of the great scarcity of provisions, when a measure, or chœnix of wheat, which was the usual allowance to one man for a day, and was about an English quart, was sold at that price.” — Doddridge. He sent them, into his vineyard — Many obeyed the call given them by John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus at the first introduction of the gospel dispensation, and many have been called in childhood in every age of the church. He went out about the third hour, about nine, and saw others standing idle — Many were standing idle, and doing nothing either for the glory of God or the salvation of their own souls, in all parts of Judea, when the apostles were first sent forth, during the time of our Lord’s personal ministry, to call them to repentance, and to do works meet for repentance. And many young persons in every age and nation have been, and still are, standing idle in the same sense; and that in the market-place, as it were, offering themselves to be hired to any master that might be disposed to engage them: and too many have continually been, and still are, hired by Satan; and, like the prodigal in the parable, (who was sent into the fields to feed swine,) are daily employed in the drudgery of sin; or are engaged by the world, and occupied in the pursuits of its vanities; or by the flesh, in the filthy lusts of which they wallow, as swine in the mire. And said, Go ye also — As well as those who have been called before you, or are called at an earlier age: and whatsoever is right — Δικαιον, just, reasonable, I will give you. And they went their way — To their work, without any further, or more particular agreement, placing an entire confidence in the promise of the householder. Thus many were obedient to the call given by the apostles in their first mission, and to that given by the seventy disciples: for they returned to Jesus, saying, Lord, the very devils are subject to us through thy name. And many young persons in former ages have obeyed, and many in the present age now obey, the gospel, wherever it is preached with clearness and power.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain A penny a day - The coin here referred…
A penny a day - The coin here referred to was a Roman coin, equal in value, at different periods, to 15 cents or 17 cents (7 1/2 d. to 8 1/2 d.) (circa 1880’s). The original denotes the Roman denarius δηνάριον dēnarion, a silver coin, which was originally equivalent to ten ases (a brass Roman coin), from which it gets its name. The consular denarius bore on one side a head of Rome, and an X or a star, to denote the value in ases, and a chariot with either two or four horses. At a later period the casts of different deities were on the obverse, and these were finally superseded by the heads of the Caesars. Many specimens of this coin have been preserved.
It was probably at that time the price of a day’s labor. See Tobit 5:14. This was the common wages of a Roman soldier. In England, before the discovery of the mines of gold and silver in South America, and consequently before money was plenty, the price of labor was about in proportion. In 1351 the price of labor was regulated by law, and was a penny a day; but provisions were of course proportionally cheap, and the avails of a man’s labor in articles of food were nearly as much as they are now.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The Roman penny, or denarius, was the 8th part…
The Roman penny, or denarius, was the 8th part of an ounce; which, at the rate of 5s. per ounce, is 7½d. It is put here for the usual hire of a day-labourer.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And when he had agreed with the labourers for…
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny--a usual day's hire.
he sent them into his vineyard.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Agreed with the labourers — Christ called Peter…
2. Agreed with the labourers — Christ called Peter and the apostles, and sent them as labourers in his vineyard, early in the morning of the Christian dispensation. For a penny a day — A very exact price precisely stated. For Peter had, in the arithmetical spirit, asked in the last chapter, What shall we have therefore? (Mat_20:27,) and our Lord had informed him what his penny was. Mat_20:28-29. A denarius or penny is about fourteen cents. It was a liberal day’s wages.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. a penny] a denarius. See ch. Mat_18:28.
2. a penny] a denarius. See ch. Mat_18:28.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) A penny a day.—Measured by its weight, the…
(2) A penny a day.—Measured by its weight, the “penny—i.e., the Roman denarius, then the common standard of value in Palestine—was, as nearly as possible, sevenpence-halfpenny of our coinage. Its real equivalent, however, is to be found in its purchasing power, and, as the average price of the unskilled labour of the tiller of the soil, it may fairly be reckoned as equal to about half-a-crown of our present currency. It was, that is, in itself, an adequate and just payment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When he had agreed with the labourers. With those…
When he had agreed with the labourers. With those first hired he makes a special agreement for the pay of the day"s work; with the others he acts differently. For a penny a day (ek hhnariou thran). The denarius (always translated "a penny" in our version) was a silver coin about equal in value to the French franc, but of course in its buying capacities worth in those days a great deal more. We learn from Tacitus ("Annal.," 1:17) that it was the usual pay of a Roman soldier. It was equivalent to the Greek drachma, which Tobit (5:14) offered to Azarias as daily wages. Our rendering of "a penny" conveys a very erroneous impression to unlearned hearers, both in this passage and in other places where it occurs.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 2. Fair labour agreements.
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Van Lennep describes the Eastern customs to which our Lord alludes in this parable. "During the whole season when vineyards may be dug, the common workmen go very early in the morning to the sook, or marketplace of the village or city, where comestibles are sold. While "waiting to be hired," they take their morning cup of coffee, and eat a morsel of bread. The owners of vineyards come to the place and engage the number of labourers they need. These immediately go to the vineyard, and work there until a little while before the sun sets, which, according to Oriental time, is twelve o"clock, so that the "eleventh hour" means one hour before sunset. We have often seen men standing in the marketplace through the entire day without finding employment, and have repeatedly engaged them ourselves at noon for half a day"s job, and later for one or two hours" work in our garden. In such a case the price has to be particularly bargained for, but it is more often left to the generosity of the employer to give what bakshish he feels disposed." There is now a very grave danger, of which we need to be on our guard. Men are talking as if our Lord made himself an authority on social questions. The truth is, that he distinctly refused to bear any relation to social, political, and legal disputes. He revealed unknown or hidden truths to men; he resettled the great principles of morals; he quickened men with a new and Divine life; but he refused to guide in detail the applications of the principles he taught. In this parable, which seems to deal with the questions of capital and labour, the thing our Lord teaches is that every man is a free man, but if, voluntarily, he enters into engagements, he must loyally keep his engagements.
I THE MAN WHO HAS WORK TO OFFER MUST KEEP HIS ENGAGEMENTS. Religion does not need to come in and say that he who wants work done must offer fair terms for the doing of it. Common humanity and honesty demand that. No man has any right to "go beyond," "take advantage of," or "defraud" his neighbour in anything.
II THE MAN WHO HAS SKILL TO DO THE WORK MUST KEEP HIS ENGAGEMENTS. If he agrees for a penny a day, nothing can happen to make that unfair. He may make a new bargain tomorrow, but he must carry through his bargain today. Strikes are very often sinful repudiations of agreements. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 2. Agreed with the labourers for a penny a…
2. Agreed with the labourers for a penny a day. A denarius, about sixteen cents, the usual full price of a day's labor at that time. It would buy then more than a dollar will now.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The hiring:
The hiring:
v. 2. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
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v. 3. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place,
v. 4. and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
v. 5. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour and did likewise.
v. 6. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
v. 7. They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Some laborers he managed to find at early dawn, and he could hire them so that they were able to go to work at once, the Jewish working-day lasting from six in the morning to six in the evening. Mark well: The word "hire" is emphasized in the parable, since its point is also to bring out the necessity of being actively engaged in labor in the kingdom of God. For a denarius a day the householder hired the workmen; that was the usual day’s wage, about fifteen cents in American money, apparently small, until one considers that the value of money was much greater in those days than at the present time. The Roman soldiers received even less. The householder and the laborers agreed on the basis of a penny, or denarius ; he offered the sum, and they agreed, the contract thus becoming binding upon both parties Since they were now in his employ, he sent them out to his vineyard. Three hours later the householder fared forth again, at nine o’clock. At the market-place, the public square in the center of the town, where the unemployed workmen gathered and waited for some master to hire them, he found others standing without employment. In hiring these men, a definite coin or sum was not stipulated, his promise being merely that he would do the right and just thing by them; he would give them what he considered fair wages. Also you, he says; a fair number he had secured at the beginning of the day, but he could use more to advantage. These men agreed to the conditions and went out to work in the vineyard. At high noon and at three o’clock in the afternoon the same process was repeated, with the same contract agreed to in the same way. But the last hiring-trip of the day was especially noteworthy. It was five in the afternoon when it became evident that the work on hand ought to be finished that very evening and that a sufficient number of willing hands might be able to accomplish the task. So once more the master hiked himself to the market-place. There he found still others patiently standing. They were without employment, they had wanted work and had not been able to get it. With all possible haste he sends them into his vineyard: You go too, though it be so late. He specifies no reward, no wages. Willingness and speed were essential.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.