1“The
kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire
workers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing to pay the workers one denarius[a] a day, he sent them
into his vineyard. 3When
he went out about nine o'clock,[b] he saw others standing
in the marketplace without work. 4He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard, too, and I will
pay you whatever is right.’ 5So off they went. He went out again about noon[c] and about three
o'clock[d] and did the same
thing. 6About five
o'clock[e] he went out and
found some others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why
are you standing here all day long without work?’ 7They told him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to
them, ‘You go into the vineyard as well.’2
8“When
evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers
and give them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with[f] the first.’ 9Those who were hired at five
o'clock[g] came, and each
received a denarius.
10“When the
first came, they thought they would receive more, but each received a denarius
as well. 11When they
received it, they began to complain to the landowner, 12‘These last fellows worked only one hour, but you paid them
the same as us, and we’ve been working all day,[h] enduring the scorching
heat!’
13“But he
said to one of them, ‘Friend, I'm not treating you unfairly. You did agree with
me for a denarius, didn't you? 14Take what is yours and go. I want to give this last man as
much as I gave you.[i] 15I am allowed to do what I want with my own money,[j] am I not? Or are you
envious[k] because I’m generous?’
16“In the same way, the last will be first, and the first will be last, because many are called, but few are chosen.”[l]
17When Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples[m] aside and said to them as they were walking along, 18“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the high priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. 19Then they will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked, whipped, and crucified, but on the third day he will be raised.”
20Then the Zebedee's wife came to
Jesus[n] with her sons. She bowed down in front of him
to ask him for a favor. 21He asked her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Promise[o] that in your kingdom these two sons of mine will sit on your right and on your left.”
22Jesus replied, “You don't realize what you're asking. Can you drink from the cup that I'm going to drink from?”[p]
They told him, “We can.”
23He said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup. But it's not up to me to grant you a seat at my right hand or at my left. These positions have already been prepared for others by my Father.”
24When the ten heard this, they became furious with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called the disciples[q] and said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them and their superiors act like tyrants over them. 26That's not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 28That's the way it is with the Son of Man. He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Jesus.[r] 30When two blind men who were sitting by the roadside heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Have mercy on us, Lord,[s] Son of David!” 31When the crowd told them harshly to be silent, they shouted even louder, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!”
32Jesus stopped and called them,
saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”20
33They told him, “Lord, we want to be able to see!”[t] 34Then Jesus, deeply moved with compassion, touched their eyes and at once they could see again. So they followed him.
[a] 20:2 The denarius was the usual day's wage for a laborer.
[b] 20:3 Lit. the third hour
[c] 20:5 Lit. the sixth hour
[d] 20:5 Lit. the ninth hour
[e] 20:6 Lit. the eleventh hour
[f] 20:8 Lit. and up to
[g] 20:9 Lit. the eleventh hour
[h] 20:12 Lit. we’ve endured the burden of the day
[i] 20:14 Lit. to this last man as also to you
[j] 20:15 Lit. things
[k] 20:15 Lit. Or
is your eye evil
[l] 20:16 Other mss. lack For many are called, but few are chosen
[m] 20:17 Other mss. lack disciples
[n] 20:20 Lit. him
[o] 20:21 Lit. Say
[p] 20:22 Other mss. read to drink from, or be baptized with the baptism with which I'm going to be baptized?
[q] 20:25 Lit. them
[r] 20:29 Lit. him
[s] 20:30 Other mss. read Jesus
[t] 20:33 Lit. Lord,
that our eyes be opened