Matthew 20

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The Parable of the Workers

¹Ὁμοία γάρ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ οἰκοδεσπότῃ ὅστις ἐξῆλθεν ἅμα πρωῒ μισθώσασθαι ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ

¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

²συμφωνήσας δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἐργατῶν ἐκ δηναρίου τὴν ἡμέραν ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ

²He agreed to pay them a denarius^a for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³Καὶ ἐξελθὼν περὶ τρίτην ὥραν εἶδεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ ἀργούς

³About the third hour^a he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

⁴καὶ ἐκείνοις εἶπεν Ὑπάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ ὃ ἐὰν ᾖ δίκαιον δώσω ὑμῖν

⁴‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’

⁵οἱ δὲ ἀπῆλθον Πάλιν δὲ ἐξελθὼν περὶ ἕκτην καὶ ἐνάτην ὥραν ἐποίησεν ὡσαύτως

⁵So they went.

He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour^a and did the same thing.

⁶Περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην ἐξελθὼν εὗρεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί

⁶About the eleventh hour^a he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.

⁷Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἡμᾶς ἐμισθώσατο Λέγει αὐτοῖς Ὑπάγετε καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα

⁷‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’^a

⁸Ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης λέγει ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ αὐτοῦ Κάλεσον τοὺς ἐργάτας καὶ ἀπόδος αὐτοῖς τὸν μισθόν ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἕως τῶν πρώτων

⁸When 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.’

⁹Καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ περὶ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην ὥραν ἔλαβον ἀνὰ δηνάριον

⁹The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.

¹⁰καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ πρῶτοι ἐνόμισαν ὅτι πλεῖον λήμψονται καὶ ἔλαβον τὸ ἀνὰ δηνάριον καὶ αὐτοί

¹⁰So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.

¹¹Λαβόντες δὲ ἐγόγγυζον κατὰ τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου

¹¹On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner.

¹²λέγοντες Οὗτοι οἱ ἔσχατοι μίαν ὥραν ἐποίησαν καὶ ἴσους αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν ἐποίησας τοῖς βαστάσασι τὸ βάρος τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τὸν καύσωνα

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.’

¹³Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς ἑνὶ αὐτῶν εἶπεν Ἑταῖρε οὐκ ἀδικῶ σε οὐχὶ δηναρίου συνεφώνησάς μοι

¹³But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?

¹⁴ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε θέλω δὲ τούτῳ τῷ ἐσχάτῳ δοῦναι ὡς καὶ σοί

¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.

¹⁵ἢ οὐκ ἔξεστίν μοι ὃ θέλω ποιῆσαι ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἢ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου πονηρός ἐστιν ὅτι ἐγὼ ἀγαθός εἰμι

¹⁵Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶Οὕτως ἔσονται οἱ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι καὶ οἱ πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι

¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^a

The Third Prediction of the Passion

¹⁷Καὶ ἀναβαίνων ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα παρέλαβεν τοὺς δώδεκα μαθητὰς κατ’ ἰδίαν καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said,

¹⁸Ἰδοὺ ἀναβαίνομεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδοθήσεται τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν καὶ γραμματεῦσιν καὶ κατακρινοῦσιν αὐτὸν εἰς θανάτῳ

¹⁸“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death

¹⁹καὶ παραδώσουσιν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εἰς τὸ ἐμπαῖξαι καὶ μαστιγῶσαι καὶ σταυρῶσαι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθήσεται

¹⁹and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And on the third day He will be raised to life.”

A Mother’s Request

²⁰Τότε προσῆλθεν αὐτῷ ἡ μήτηρ τῶν υἱῶν Ζεβεδαίου μετὰ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς προσκυνοῦσα καὶ αἰτοῦσά τι ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ

²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.

²¹Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ Τί θέλεις Λέγει αὐτῷ Εἰπὲ ἵνα καθίσωσιν οὗτοι οἱ δύο υἱοί μου εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν σου καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων σου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου

²¹“What do you want?” He inquired.

She answered, “Declare that in Your kingdom one of these two sons of mine may sit at Your right hand, and the other at Your left.”

²²Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν Οὐκ οἴδατε τί αἰτεῖσθε δύνασθε πιεῖν τὸ ποτήριον ὃ ἐγὼ μέλλω πίνειν Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Δυνάμεθα

²²“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”^a

“We can,” the brothers answered.

²³Λέγει αὐτοῖς Τὸ μὲν ποτήριόν μου πίεσθε τὸ δὲ καθίσαι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸν τοῦτο δοῦναι ἀλλ’ οἷς ἡτοίμασται ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός μου

²³“You will indeed drink My cup,”^a Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”

²⁴Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ δέκα ἠγανάκτησαν περὶ τῶν δύο ἀδελφῶν

²⁴When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.

²⁵ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτοὺς εἶπεν Οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐθνῶν κατακυριεύουσιν αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι κατεξουσιάζουσιν αὐτῶν

²⁵But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

²⁶οὐχ οὕτως ἔσται ἐν ὑμῖν ἀλλ’ ὃς ἐὰν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν μέγας γενέσθαι ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος

²⁶It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

²⁷καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος

²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

²⁸ὥσπερ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν

²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

The Blind Men by the Road

²⁹Καὶ ἐκπορευομένων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Ἰεριχὼ ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς

²⁹As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

³⁰καὶ ἰδοὺ δύο τυφλοὶ καθήμενοι παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν ἀκούσαντες ὅτι Ἰησοῦς παράγει ἔκραξαν λέγοντες Κύριε ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς υἱὸς Δαυίδ

³⁰And there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹Ὁ δὲ ὄχλος ἐπετίμησεν αὐτοῖς ἵνα σιωπήσωσιν οἱ δὲ μεῖζον ἔκραξαν λέγοντες Κύριε ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς υἱὸς Δαυίδ

³¹The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²Καὶ στὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐφώνησεν αὐτοὺς καὶ εἶπεν Τί θέλετε ποιήσω ὑμῖν

³²Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked.

³³Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Κύριε ἵνα ἀνοιγῶσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν

³³“Lord,” they answered, “let our eyes be opened.”

³⁴Σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἥψατο τῶν ὀμμάτων αὐτῶν καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέβλεψαν καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ

³⁴Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him.