Matthew 20:2

Matthew 20:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
• New International Version (NIV)He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
• English Standard Version (ESV)After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Context of Matthew 20:2

1“For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right (an appropriate wage).’ And they went.

Matthew 20:2 word by word

συμφωνήσας δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἐργατῶν ἐκ δηναρίου τὴν ἡμέραν ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• when he had agreedσυμφωνέωsumphōneō · to agree withG4856
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• the labourersὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the labourersἐργάτηςergatēs · workerG2040
• forἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• a pennyδηνάριονdēnarion · denariusG1220
• a dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• he sentἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• vineyardἀμπελώνampelōn · vineyardG290

Cross-references for Matthew 20:2

• Matthew 20:13But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
• Exodus 19:5Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine;
• Deuteronomy 5:27You, Moses, go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.’
• Matthew 18:28But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe!’
• Matthew 22:19Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage].
• Luke 10:35On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’
• Revelation 6:6And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day’s wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
• 1 Samuel 2:18Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a child dressed in a linen ephod [a sacred item of priestly clothing].
• 1 Samuel 3:1Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord under the supervision of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread.
• 1 Samuel 16:11Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”
• 1 Kings 3:6Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
• 1 Kings 18:12And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the Lord from my youth.
• 2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images.
• Ecclesiastes 12:1Remember [thoughtfully] also your Creator in the days of your youth [for you are not your own, but His], before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], “I have no enjoyment and delight in them”;
• Luke 1:15for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never drink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.
• 2 Timothy 3:15and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness].

Commentaries on Matthew 20:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A penny - A Roman coin, as noted before, Matthew 18:28, worth about seven-pence halfpenny or seven-pence three farthings of our money, and equal to the Greek drachma. This appears to have been the ordinary price of a day's labor at that time. See Tobit 5:14. In 1351 the price of labor was regulated in this country by parliament; and it is remarkable that "corn-weeders and hay-makers, without meat, drink, or other courtesy demanded," were to have one penny…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A penny a day - The coin here referred to was a Roman coin, equal in value, at different periods, to 15 cents or 17 cents (7 1/2 d. to 8 1/2 d.) (circa 1880‘s). The original denotes the Roman denarius ́ dēnariona silver coin, which was originally equivalent to ten ases (a brass Roman coin), from which it gets its name. The consular denarius bore on one side a head of Rome, and an X or a star, to denote the value in ases, and a chariot with either two or…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-16This parable is like the parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11–32). In both, God shows grace to two groups, but one complains about unfair treatment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny--a usual day's hire. he sent them into his vineyard.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 20:2

• Contracts
• Employee
• Gospel
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Labor
• Penny
• Reward
• Servant
• Vineyard
• Wages
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Alabaster
• Choose
• Condemn
• Drink
• Hireling
• Idle
• Penny
• Prepare
• Ransom

Commentaries on Matthew 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings