The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard
Matthew 20:1-16
Matt.20.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Ομοια: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- γαρ: CONJ
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- βασιλεια: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- ουρανων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ανθρωπω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- οικοδεσποτη: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- οστις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- εξηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αμα: ADV
- πρωι: ADV
- μισθωσασθαι: VERB,aor,mid,inf
- εργατας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
Parallels
- Mark 12:1-12 (structural): Another vineyard parable (the tenants): shares the vineyard-owner motif and the sending of servants/agents, highlighting themes of ownership, expectation, and judgment—structurally parallel to Matthew’s vineyard setting.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The prophetic 'song of the vineyard' uses the vineyard as a metaphor for God’s people and God’s governance—background imagery informing New Testament vineyard parables about divine stewardship and expectations.
- Matt.19:30 (thematic): The teaching that 'many who are first will be last, and the last first' echoes the reversal-of-expectation theme developed in the vineyard parable (paying late workers as much as early ones).
- Romans 9:15 (thematic): Paul’s assertion of God’s sovereign mercy ('I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy') parallels the parable’s emphasis on the owner’s prerogative in granting wages—raising issues of divine freedom in bestowing grace.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
- For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
Matt.20.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- συμφωνησας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- μετα: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- εργατων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- εκ: PREP
- δηναριου: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- ημεραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- απεστειλεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,3,m
Parallels
- Matt.20:1-16 (structural): Immediate context — the full Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard; verse 2 states the hiring for a denarius and launching of the parable’s action.
- Matt.21:33-46 (thematic): Parable of the Tenants also uses vineyard/landowner imagery to explore themes of ownership, servants/tenants, and divine justice — a related vineyard motif and social relationship between owner and workers/tenants.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The "Song of the Vineyard" portrays God as vineyard owner and Israel as the vineyard, using vineyard imagery to address stewardship, expectations, and judgment — background for New Testament vineyard parables.
- James 5:4 (thematic): Condemns those who withhold wages: "the wages of the laborers… cry out" — thematically connected to concerns about labor, pay, and justice that underlie the vineyard parable.
- Luke 10:7 (verbal): Jesus’ statement that "the laborer deserves his wages" (cf. Greek concept of deserved pay) echoes the expectation of a denarius for a day's work and connects to norms governing hiring and recompense invoked in Matthew 20:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- And having agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
- And having agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Matt.20.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- εξελθων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,m,sg
- περι: PREP
- τριτην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- ωραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ειδεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αλλους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- εστωτας: VERB,perf,act,ptc,acc,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- αγορα: NOUN,dat,sg,f
- αργους·: ADJ,acc,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1 (structural): Introduces the Parable of the Vineyard and sets the scene that this verse continues — establishes the owner hiring workers at different times.
- Matthew 20:6 (verbal): Repeats the same narrative pattern with a different hour ('and about the sixth hour he went out and saw others standing idle in the marketplace'), showing the parallel sequence of hires throughout the day.
- Matthew 20:2 (thematic): Earlier verse records the agreement to pay a denarius for a day's work, providing the contractual background for the subsequent hires described in v.3.
- Matthew 20:9 (verbal): Describes the owner's payment to the laborers ('and when evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his steward...'), directly connecting the hiring episodes (including those in v.3) to the wage settlement.
- Matthew 20:16 (thematic): Parable's conclusion ('So the last will be first, and the first last') interprets the hiring sequence (including the third-hour hires) as illustrating the kingdom's reversal and divine generosity.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market,
- And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Matt.20.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- εκεινοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- ειπεν·Υπαγετε: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- εαν: CONJ
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- δικαιον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
- δωσω: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν·: PRON,dat,pl,2
Parallels
- Matt.20:8 (verbal): Repeats the same summons to later hires—'Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you'—reinforcing the employer's offer and the parable's structure.
- Matt.19:30 (thematic): Expresses the parable's theological point of reversal and divine justice: 'Many that are first shall be last, and the last first,' a lesson tied to the vineyard story's outcome.
- Mark 10:31 (thematic): Parallel saying to Matthew 19:30 ('the first shall be last'), echoing the motif of eschatological reversal illustrated by the vineyard parable.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): Uses vineyard imagery and the owner–vineyard relationship; provides an Old Testament background for vineyard symbolism and expectations of justice and fruitfulness.
- Luke 14:16-24 (thematic): Parable of the great banquet (master inviting many, including those initially excluded) parallels themes of unexpected generosity and reversal in Jesus' kingdom ethics, similar to the vineyard parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- and to them he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went.
- and to them he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.' And they went.
Matt.20.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- απηλθον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- παλιν: ADV
- εξελθων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,m,sg
- περι: PREP
- εκτην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ενατην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ωραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εποιησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ωσαυτως: ADV
Parallels
- Matthew 20:3 (verbal): Uses the same narrative formula ('about the third hour he went out')—repetition of the landowner's repeated summons to hire laborers.
- Matthew 20:6 (verbal): Same structural phrase ('about the eleventh hour')—continues the pattern of successive outings noted in 20:5.
- Matthew 20:16 (thematic): Summarizes the parable's point that the last will be first—connects the repeated hiring at different hours to the theme of reversal and divine generosity.
- Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (thematic): Old Testament law about paying hired workers their wages promptly—provides background on expectations about wages that the parable plays against by highlighting the landowner's unexpected generosity.
- Romans 9:15 (thematic): God's sovereign choice of mercy ('I will have mercy on whom I have mercy') parallels the landowner's freedom to distribute wages as he chooses—both emphasize divine prerogative in bestowing grace.
Alternative generated candidates
- Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
- Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same.
Matt.20.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- περι: PREP
- δε: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- ενδεκατην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- εξελθων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,m,sg
- ευρεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αλλους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- εστωτας: VERB,perf,act,part,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Τι: PRON,dat,pl,m+PART
- ωδε: ADV
- εστηκατε: VERB,perf,act,ind,2,pl
- ολην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- ημεραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αργοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Matt.20.1-16 (structural): The entire parable of the laborers in the vineyard; v.6 is a line within this pericope describing the eleventh-hour hiring.
- Matt.20.3-5 (verbal): Earlier verses recount the same pattern of the landowner going out at successive hours to hire workers, paralleling the eleventh‑hour commissioning in v.6.
- Matt.20.8 (structural): The owner’s instruction at evening to call the laborers and pay them explains the context for why some had been standing idle during the day.
- Matt.20.16 (thematic): The closing proverb ('the last will be first...') expresses the same reversal-of-expectation theme that frames the eleventh‑hour hiring.
- Luke 14:16-24 (thematic): The Parable of the Great Banquet shares the theme of late invitations and unexpected inclusion of those formerly excluded, producing a social reversal similar to Matthew's vineyard parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
- And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
Matt.20.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω·Οτι: PRON,dat,sg,m+CONJ
- ουδεις: PRON,nom,sg,m
- ημας: PRON,acc,pl,1
- εμισθωσατο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,sg
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Υπαγετε: PRON,dat,pl,m+VERB,pres,act,imp,2,pl
- και: CONJ
- υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1-16 (structural): The wider context — the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard; verse 7 is part of this narrative and its central action (recruiting more workers).
- Matthew 20:9 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same parable — continues the hiring motif and the later arrival of laborers, using similar language about those found standing idle and being brought into the vineyard.
- Matthew 9:37-38 (thematic): Uses the same labor/harvest imagery and the need for workers; Jesus urges prayer to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers, echoing the call to work in God's field.
- John 4:35-38 (thematic): Jesus speaks of fields 'white for harvest' and the sending of laborers who reap and receive reward — parallel theme of inviting others into God’s work and shared labor/reward language.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The vineyard motif as a symbolic depiction of God's people and God’s expectation of fruitfulness; provides Old Testament background to vineyard imagery and divine calling/judgment invoked by Jesus’ vineyard parables.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'
- They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'
Matt.20.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οψιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- δε: CONJ
- γενομενης: VERB,pres,mid,part,gen,f,sg
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κυριος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αμπελωνος: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- επιτροπω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- αυτου·Καλεσον: PRON,gen,sg,3+VERB,aor,act,imp,2,pl
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- εργατας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- αποδος: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- αυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- μισθον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- αρξαμενος: VERB,aor,mid,part,nom,sg,m
- απο: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- εσχατων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
- εως: CONJ
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- πρωτων: ADJ,gen,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1-16 (structural): The broader pericope (Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard); verse 8 is the owner's instruction to call and pay the laborers, framing the parable's action and thematic point.
- Matthew 20:16 (verbal): The concluding maxim of the parable ('So the last will be first, and the first last') directly summarizes the reversal of expectations implicit in paying from the last to the first.
- Matthew 19:30 (verbal): An earlier saying of Jesus with near-identical wording ('but many who are first will be last...'), expressing the same theme of eschatological/social reversal that underlies the payment sequence in 20:8.
- Mark 10:31 (verbal): Parallel saying in Mark's Gospel ('but many who are first will be last, and the last first'), corroborating the Matthean theme of reversal that the vineyard owner enacts.
- Luke 13:30 (verbal): Lukan parallel ('Then some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last'), another Gospel attestation of the same reversal motif illustrated by paying workers from last to first.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and going on to the first.'
- Now when evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and going to the first.'
Matt.20.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ελθοντες: PART,aor,act,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- περι: PREP
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- ενδεκατην: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- ωραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ελαβον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- ανα: PREP
- δηναριον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1 (structural): Opening verse of the same parable (the landowner hiring laborers) that sets the scene for the eleventh‑hour hiring described in 20:9.
- Matthew 20:10–15 (verbal): Immediate continuation that records the payment (a denarius) and the ensuing complaint and the owner’s defense — direct continuation of the same incident.
- Matthew 19:30 (thematic): Summarizes the same theological reversal (’the last will be first, and the first last’) that is the parable’s moral conclusion.
- Luke 14:21–23 (thematic): Parable of the great banquet where late invitees are brought in and supplied — similar theme of latecomers being welcomed and provided for.
- Luke 10:7 (verbal): ’For the laborer deserves his wages’ — a teaching about fair payment for hired workers that echoes the vineyard/hire context and the denarius as a day’s wage.
Alternative generated candidates
- And when those who were hired about the eleventh hour came, each received a denarius.
- And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each received a denarius.
Matt.20.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- ελθοντες: PART,aor,act,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- πρωτοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- ενομισαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- πλειον: ADJ,comp,nom,sg,n
- λημψονται·και: VERB,fut,mid,ind,3,pl
- ελαβον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- ανα: PREP
- δηναριον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- αυτοι: PRON,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1-16 (structural): The whole parable of the laborers in the vineyard; v.10 is a line within this narrative and its meaning is set by the broader story of hiring and payment.
- Matthew 20:13-15 (verbal): Direct continuation and explanation of the payment—verse 13 records the landowner's response to the complaint and v.15 defends paying the agreed denarius to latecomers.
- Matthew 20:16 (verbal): The parable’s concluding maxim (“So the last shall be first…”) directly interprets the dispute reflected in v.10 about who deserves more.
- Matthew 19:30 (verbal): An earlier saying of Jesus using the same formula (“but many who are first will be last…”), thematically linked to the reversal of expectations in the parable.
- Luke 14:7-14 (thematic): A Lucan teaching on taking the lowest place at a feast and God’s reversal of honor—shares the theme of social reversal and unexpected recompense found in the vineyard parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- But when the first came, they supposed they would receive more; and each of them likewise received a denarius.
- But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
Matt.20.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λαβοντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- εγογγυζον: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- κατα: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- οικοδεσποτου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:12 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation—those who had received the denarius 'murmured' (same action), completing the scene in the parable.
- Numbers 11:1 (verbal): LXX uses the verb γογγύζω for Israel's complaint ('the people complained'), the same verb as Matthew 20:11, showing an OT precedent for communal grumbling.
- Psalm 106:25 (allusion): The psalm recounts Israel 'murmuring in their tents'—a thematic parallel portraying murmuring as Israelite discontent that Matthew's listeners would recognize.
- Philippians 2:14 (verbal): Paul exhorts believers to do 'all things without grumbling' (ἄνευ γογγυσμοῦ), using the same root to condemn the attitude exemplified by the laborers.
- James 5:9 (verbal): James commands Christians not to 'grumble' against one another (μὴ γογγύσητε), echoing the verb and opposing the communal complaint depicted in the parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- And on receiving it, they grumbled against the householder,
- And on receiving it they grumbled against the owner of the vineyard,
Matt.20.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- λεγοντες·Ουτοι: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,pl,m+PRON,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- εσχατοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- μιαν: ADJ,acc,sg,f
- ωραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εποιησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- ισους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- ημιν: PRON,dat,pl,1
- εποιησας: VERB,aor,act,ind,2,sg
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- βαστασασι: VERB,aor,act,ptc,dat,pl,m
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- βαρος: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- ημερας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- και: CONJ
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- καυσωνα: NOUN,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 20:13 (structural): Immediate continuation of the parable — the landowner's reply defends paying all workers the same, directly answering the grumbling of those who worked all day.
- Matthew 20:16 (thematic): Concluding proverb of the parable ('So the last will be first...') encapsulates the theme of divine generosity that appears in v.12's complaint about equal pay.
- Luke 13:30 (thematic): Parallel teaching elsewhere in the Gospels using the same motif that outcomes in God's kingdom overturn human expectations of order and merit ('last will be first').
- Romans 9:14-24 (thematic): Paul's reflection on God's sovereign mercy and the right to show compassion to whom He wills resonates with the landowner's freedom in dispensing wages regardless of human notions of fairness.
- Isaiah 55:8-9 (thematic): The prophetic affirmation that God's ways and thoughts differ from human understanding provides a background for the parable's contrast between divine generosity and human complaints about equity.
Alternative generated candidates
- saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'
- saying, 'These last worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'
Matt.20.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- αποκριθεις: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- ενι: NUM,nom,sg,m
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
- ειπεν·Εταιρε: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ουκ: PART
- αδικω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- σε·ουχι: PRO,acc,sg,2
- δηναριου: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- συνεφωνησας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- μοι: PRON,dat,sg,1
Parallels
- Matthew 20:9 (verbal): Uses the same agreement language about the denarius (συνεφωνησαν/συνεφωνησας) — directly parallels the contract reference in v.13.
- Matthew 20:1-16 (structural): Verse 13 is part of this parable (the Workers in the Vineyard); the whole passage provides the narrative and theological context for the landowner’s reply.
- Matthew 20:15 (thematic): Immediate sequel where the owner defends his actions—'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own?'—develops the same theme of contractual agreement and proprietor’s rights.
- Luke 10:7 (thematic): ‘The laborer is worthy of his hire’ echoes the NT concern with fair payment for workers and highlights a related perspective on wages and justice.
- James 5:4 (thematic): Condemns withholding the wages of laborers ('the wages which you kept back'), engaging the biblical theme of just treatment and payment of workers that the parable addresses from a different angle.
Alternative generated candidates
- But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I do you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?'
- But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?'
Matt.20.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αρον: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- σον: PRON,acc,sg,neut
- και: CONJ
- υπαγε·θελω: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,sg + VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- δε: CONJ
- τουτω: DEM,dat,sg,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- εσχατω: ADJ,dat,sg,m
- δουναι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- ως: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- σοι·: PRON,dat,sg,2
Parallels
- Matthew 20:1-16 (structural): The immediate context — the full Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard; v.14 is a line within this narrative and its meaning is governed by the whole parable.
- Matthew 20:16 (verbal): The parable's summative remark ('So the last will be first, and the first last') directly interprets the owner's decision to pay the late workers the same as the early ones.
- Mark 10:31 (verbal): Synoptic parallel to Matthew's saying about reversal in the kingdom ('the last will be first, and the first last'), reflecting the same theme of divine reversal and unexpected generosity.
- Luke 13:30 (verbal): A parallel saying in Luke emphasizing that those considered last may be first in God's kingdom — thematically tied to the owner's equal pay for latecomers.
- Romans 9:15 (thematic): Paul's appeal to God's sovereign freedom ('I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy') parallels the landowner's prerogative to distribute generosity as he chooses, underscoring divine sovereignty in mercy.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'Take what is yours and go. I choose to give to this last as to you.'
- 'Take what is yours and go. I choose to give to this last the same as to you.'
Matt.20.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουκ: PART
- εξεστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- μοι: PRON,dat,sg,1
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- θελω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- ποιησαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- εν: PREP
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- εμοις: PRON,dat,pl,1
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- οφθαλμος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- σου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- πονηρος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- οτι: CONJ
- εγω: PRO,nom,sg,1
- αγαθος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- ειμι: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
Parallels
- Romans 9:15-18 (verbal): Paul cites the same theological point—'I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy'—to emphasize God's sovereign freedom in election, paralleling the landowner's right to do as he pleases with his own vineyard.
- Exodus 33:19 (allusion): God's declaration 'I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy' is the OT basis for the divine prerogative invoked in Matthew's parable; both stress God's right to distribute favor as he chooses.
- Romans 9:20-21 (thematic): Paul's rhetorical rebuke ('Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?') echoes the parable's challenge to human complaint about divine decisions—questioning the right to resent God's generosity.
- Luke 15:28-31 (thematic): The elder brother's anger at the father's generous treatment of the prodigal mirrors the laborers' resentment toward the landowner's equal pay, highlighting the theme of human jealousy in response to unexpected grace.
Alternative generated candidates
- 'Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'
- 'Or am I not allowed to do what I will with what is my own? Is your eye envious because I am generous?'
Matt.20.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουτως: ADV
- εσονται: VERB,fut,mid,ind,3,pl
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- εσχατοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- πρωτοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- πρωτοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- εσχατοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Matt.19.30 (verbal): Almost identical saying earlier in Matthew (concluding the rich young ruler episode): 'Many who are first will be last, and the last first.'
- Mark 10.31 (verbal): Synoptic parallel with the same reversal formula following the teaching about discipleship and rewards: '...the last will be first, and the first last.'
- Luke 13.30 (verbal): Luke's version of the saying in the context of the narrow door and reversal of expectations: 'Behold, the last will be first, and the first last.'
- Luke 14.11 (thematic): Thematic parallel teaching the same principle of exaltation and humiliation: 'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'
Alternative generated candidates
- 'So the last shall be first, and the first last.' For many are called, but few are chosen.
- So the last will be first, and the first last.
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
He agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day and sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and to them he said, “You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is just I will give you.” So they went.
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?”
They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.”
When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and up to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more; but they also received each a denarius.
On receiving it they grumbled against the landowner,
saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he answered one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
Take what is yours and go. I choose to give to this last the same as to you.
Or am I not permitted to do what I please with my own? Is your eye evil because I am good—or do you begrudge my generosity?” So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.