Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
- KJV Again he went out about the sixth and 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.
- 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 15:33–34When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- Josh 24:2–3Joshua said to all the people, “Yahweh says, the God of Israel, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.
- Heb 11:24–26By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
- Acts 3:1Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
- Luke 23:44–46It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
- 2 Chr 33:12–19When he was in distress, he begged Yahweh his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
- John 11:9Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
- John 4:6Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- John 1:39He said to them, “Come, and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
- Gen 12:1–4Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
- Acts 10:3At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
- Matt 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Acts 10:9Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.
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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
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.