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Matthew 20:6

About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
Matthew 20:6 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
  • BSB About 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.
  • NKJV And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
  • NASB And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’
  • NLT “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • John 9:4I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
  • Heb 6:12that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.
  • Acts 17:21Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
  • Prov 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
  • Luke 23:40–43But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
  • Eccl 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
  • Ezek 16:49“‘“Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (12)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 20:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 20:6 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.