Matthew 20:1

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	γάρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
the kingdom	βασιλεία basileia	G932	properly · noun — nominative singular feminine
of heaven	οὐρανῶν ouranōn	G3772	the sky · noun — genitive plural masculine
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
like	Ὁμοία Homoia	G3664	similar (in appearance or character) · adjective — nominative singular feminine
unto a man	ἀνθρώπῳ anthrōpō	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — dative singular masculine
an householder	οἰκοδεσπότῃ oikodespotē	G3617	the head of a family · noun — dative singular masculine
which	ὅστις hostis	G3748	which some · relative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
went out	ἐξῆλθεν exēlthen	G1831	to issue (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
early	ἅμα hama	G260	properly · adverb
in the morning	πρωῒ prōi	G4404	at dawn · adverb
to hire	μισθώσασθαι misthōsasthai	G3409	to let out for wages · verb — aorist middle infinitive
labourers	ἐργάτας ergatas	G2040	a toiler · noun — accusative plural masculine
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
vineyard	ἀμπελῶνα ampelōna	G290	a vineyard · noun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Matthew 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour…
Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be…
Song of Solomon 8:11-12 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces o…
Matthew 22:2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 20:1

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man,.... That is, the Gospel dispensation, or times of the Messiah, may fitly be represented by a man that is an householder, or master of a family, as Christ is; See Gill on Matthew 10:25 He is master of the whole family of God, in heaven, and in earth, of all the children of God, and household of faith; his house they are, he is Father and master, son and firstborn, priest and prophet there. Which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard: by "the vineyard" may be meant the church, which, like a vineyard, is separated by electing, redeeming, and calling grace, and by the order and ordinances of the Gospel, from the rest of…

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John Calvin on Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16 Matthew 20:1-16 1. For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder, who went out at break of day to hire laborers into his vineyard. 2. And having made an agreement with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3. And having gone out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the market-place. 4. And he said to them, Go you also into the vineyard, and whatever shall be right I will give you. 5. And they went away. And again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and acted in the same manner. 6. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why stand you here all the day idle? 7. They say to h…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 20:1-16

This parable is similar to the parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32). In both, God’s grace is shown to two parties while one grumbles about unjust treatment.

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

Or, all that were called of old envy the Gentiles, and are pained at the grace of the Gospel.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

To establish the truth of this saying, There are many first that shall be last, and last first, the Lord subjoins a similitude.
— Remigius of Rheims ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

For the whole of this present life may be called one day, long to us, short compared to the existence of God. The market-place is all that is without the vineyard, that is, without the Church of Christ.
— Origen of Alexandria ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Hireling — A labourer employed on hire for a limited time (Job 7:1; 14:6; Mark 1:20). His wages were paid as soon as his work was over (Lev. 19:13). In the time of our Lord a day’s wage was a “penny” (q.v.)…
Hour — First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of the Chaldee shaah, meaning a “moment,” a “look.” It is used in the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season (Matt.…
Magistrate — A public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land (Deut. 1:16, 17). In Judg. 18:7 the word “magistrate” (A.V.) is rendered…
Wages — Rate of (mention only in Matt. 20:2); to be punctually paid (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15); judgements threatened against the withholding of (Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5; comp. James 5:4); paid in money…
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Persons engaged in, called: Labourers — Persons engaged in, called: Labourers
Contracts · 21:2-6; — 21:2-6;
Employee · CHARACTER OF UNRIGHTEOUS — CHARACTER OF UNRIGHTEOUS
Kingdom Of Heaven · .To a househol — .To a househol
Labor · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Morning · The Jews: Transacted business in — The Jews: Transacted business in
Parables · Parables of christ: Labourers hired — Parables of christ: Labourers hired
Reward · 8:33;