Amplified Bible
Matthew 20:6
6And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’
Matthew 20:6 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
- English Standard Version (ESV)And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
- New King James Version (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?’
Context of Matthew 20:6
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. 5He went out about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7They answered him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard also.’ 8“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [to be hired] and ending with the first [to be hired].’
Read all of Matthew 20Matthew 20:6 word by word
περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην ἐξελθὼν εὗρεν ἄλλους ἑστῶτας καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- aboutπερίperi · aboutG4012
- theὥραhōra · hourG5610
- eleventhἑνδέκατοςhendekatos · eleventhG1734
- he went outἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
- and foundεὑρίσκωheuriskō · to find/meetG2147
- othersἄλλοςallos · anotherG243
- standingἵστημιhistēmi · to standG2476
- idleἀργόςargos · idleG692
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- Whyτίςtis · which?G5101
- hereὧδεhōde · hereG5602
- allὅλοςholos · allG3650
- the dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
Cross-references for Matthew 20:6
- Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.
- Luke 23:40But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
- John 9:4We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
- Proverbs 19:15Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity], And the idle person will suffer hunger.
- Ezekiel 16:49Behold, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters (outlying cities) had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.
- Acts 17:21(Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there used to spend their [leisure] time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
- Hebrews 6:12so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.
Commentaries on Matthew 20:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Eleventh - Five o'clock in the evening, when there was only one hour before the end of the Jewish day, which, in matters of labor, closed at six.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The eleventh hour - About five o‘clock in the afternoon, or when there was but one working hour of the day left.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. 66. And about the eleventh hour--but one hour before the close of the working day; a most unusual hour both for offering and engaging and found others standing idle, and saith, Why stand ye here all the day idle?--Of course they had not been there, or not been disposed to offer themselves at the proper time; but as they were now willing, and the day was not over, and "yet there was room," they also are engaged, and on similar terms with all the rest.Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 20:6
In the dictionaries
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
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