About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
- KJV And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
- NKJV And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
- NASB And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace;
- NLT “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At mid-morning the landowner finds others standing idle in the marketplace. His repeated hiring shows his eagerness to bring more workers in.
Overview
The third hour (around 9 a.m.) marks the landowner's continued initiative in seeking laborers. The idle men picture those not yet called into the master's work. This pattern of repeated calling throughout the day pictures God's ongoing, gracious summons to people at every stage and season of life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Tim 5:13At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
- Prov 19:15Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
- Acts 17:17–21So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.
- Acts 2:15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
- Matt 20:6–7About 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.
- Mark 15:25It was the third hour when they crucified Him.
- Ezek 16:49Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
- Matt 11:16–17To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
- Heb 6:12Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 20:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.