Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
- BSB So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
- NKJV Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
- NASB Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.
- NLT So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
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
The landowner hires still more workers at noon and mid-afternoon. His persistence underscores his initiative in calling laborers all day long.
Overview
By going out again at the sixth and ninth hours, the master keeps seeking workers throughout the day. The repetition emphasizes God's continual, gracious calling of people into his service. No matter how late the hour, the master is willing to receive new laborers into his vineyard.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Mark 15:33–34And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- Josh 24:2–3And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
- Heb 11:24–26By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
- Acts 3:1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
- Luke 23:44–46And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
- 2 Chr 33:12–19And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
- John 11:9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
- John 4:6Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
- John 1:39He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
- Gen 12:1–4Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
- Acts 10:3He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
- Matt 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
- Acts 10:9On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
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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 20:5 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
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