“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.
Parallel translations
- KJV And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
- BSB The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.
- NKJV And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
- NASB When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.
- NLT When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.
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 workers hired at the eleventh hour each receive a full denarius. They are given a whole day's wage for one hour of labor.
Overview
The latecomers receive far more than they earned—a full day's pay for a single hour's work. This is sheer generosity, not justice based on output. It pictures the gospel reality that God gives the full blessing of salvation freely, regardless of how long or how much one has served.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rom 4:3–6For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
- Eph 2:8–10for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Eph 1:6–8to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved,
- Matt 20:2When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
- Matt 20:6–7About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
- Luke 23:40–43But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
- Rom 5:20–21The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly;
- 1 Tim 1:14–16The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:9 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.