Matthew 20:15

Matthew 20:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
• New International Version (NIV)Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
• New King James Version (NKJV)Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
• New Living Translation (NLT)Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

Context of Matthew 20:15

13But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' 16So the last will be first, and the first last." 17And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,

Matthew 20:15 word by word

ἢ οὐκ ἔξεστίν μοι ὃ θέλω ποιῆσαι ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς; ἢ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου πονηρός ἐστιν ὅτι ἐγὼ ἀγαθός εἰμι;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·ἤē · orG2228
• Is itἔξεστι, ἐξόνexesti · be permittedG1832
• notοὐou · noG3756
• for meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• to doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• whatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• I willθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• mine ownἐμόςemos · mineG1699
• ·εἰei · ifG1487
• Isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• thineσύsu · youG4771
• eyeὀφθαλμόςophthalmos · eyeG3788
• evilπονηρόςponēros · evil/badG4190
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• goodἀγαθόςagathos · goodG18

Cross-references for Matthew 20:15

• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
• Exodus 33:19And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
• Deuteronomy 7:6"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
• 1 Chronicles 28:4Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's house, and among my father's sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel.
• Jeremiah 27:5"It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.
• John 17:2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
• Romans 9:15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
• Romans 11:5So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
• Ephesians 1:11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
• Ephesians 2:1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
• James 1:18Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
• Matthew 6:23but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
• Deuteronomy 15:9Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.
• Deuteronomy 28:54The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left,
• Proverbs 23:6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,

Commentaries on Matthew 20:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Is it not lawful for me - As eternal life is the free gift of God, he has a right to give it in whatever proportions, at whatever times, and on whatever conditions he pleases. Is thine eye evil - An evil eye among the Jews meant a malicious, covetous, or envious person. Most commentators have different methods of interpreting this parable. Something was undoubtedly designed by its principal parts, besides the scope and design mentioned at the conclusion…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Is thine we evil because I am good? - The Hebrews used the word evil, when applied to the eye, to denote one envious and malicious, Deuteronomy 15:9; Proverbs 23:6. The eye is called evil in such cases, because envy and malice show themselves directly in the eye. No passions are so fully expressed by the eye as these. “Does envy show itself in the eye? is thine eye so soon turned to express envy and malice because I have chosen to do good?”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. 1515. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?--that is, "You appeal to justice, and by that your mouth is shut; for the sum you agreed for is paid you. Your case being disposed of, with the terms I make with other laborers you have nothing to do; and to grudge the benevolence shown to others, when by your own admission you have been honorably dealt with, is both unworthy envy of your neighbor, and…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 20:15

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

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Choose
• Condemn
• Drink
• Evil eye
• Eye
• Idle
• Prepare
• Ransom
• Wrong

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