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Monday, July 7th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

New American Standard Bible (1995)

Matthew 20:6

"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Aged;   Contracts;   Employee;   Gospel;   Hours;   Idleness;   Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Kingdom of Heaven;   Labor;   Penny;   Reward;   Servant;   Vineyard;   Wages;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Hour;   The Topic Concordance - Kingdom of God;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Day;   Parables;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Hours;   Market;   Parable;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Day;   Grace;   Grapes;   Kingdom of god;   Parables;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Christ, Christology;   Gospel;   Grace;   King, Christ as;   Reward;   Wages;   Work;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Hireling;   Wages;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Drachma;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Election;   Grace;   Idle;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Vine;   Wages;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Mary;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Almsgiving ;   Celibacy (2);   Day;   Discourse;   Hour;   Justice (2);   Labour (2);   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Merit;   Money (2);   Paradox;   Prize;   Samaritan, the Good ;   Sea of Galilee;   Selfishness;   Steward, Stewardship;   Time;   Unity (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Hireling, Hired Servant;   37 Slow Slothful Idle;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Hireling;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   Twelve Apostles, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Day;   Idle;   Justice;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Parable;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then about five
King James Version (1611)
And about the eleuenth houre, he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
King James Version
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?
English Standard Version
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 American Standard Bible
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
New Century Version
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
Amplified Bible
"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?'
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he went about the eleuenth houre, and found other standing idle, & sayd vnto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Legacy Standard Bible
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
Berean Standard Bible
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' he asked.
Contemporary English Version
Finally, about five in the afternoon the man went back and found some others standing there. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
Complete Jewish Bible
About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?"
Darby Translation
But about the eleventh [hour], having gone out, he found others standing, and says to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Easy-to-Read Version
About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw some other people standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?'
George Lamsa Translation
And towards the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and he said to them, Why do you stand all day idle?
Good News Translation
It was nearly five o'clock when he went to the marketplace and saw some other men still standing there. ‘Why are you wasting the whole day here doing nothing?' he asked them.
Lexham English Bible
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?'
Literal Translation
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day?
American Standard Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Bible in Basic English
And about the eleventh hour he went out and saw others doing nothing; and he says to them, Why are you here all the day doing nothing?
Hebrew Names Version
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
International Standard Version
About five o'clockthe eleventh hour
">[fn] he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day long without work?'
Etheridge Translation
And about eleven hours he went out, and found others who were standing and unemployed; and he said to them, Why are you standing all the day unemployed ?
Murdock Translation
And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others who were standing and idle; and he said to them: Why stand ye all the day, and are idle?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And about the eleuenth houre, he wet out, and founde other standyng idle, and saide vnto them: why stande ye here all the day idle?
English Revised Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
World English Bible
About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?'
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Weymouth's New Testament
And going out about five o'clock he found others loitering, and he asked them, "`Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?'
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But aboute the elleuenthe our he wente out, and foond other stondynge; and he seide to hem, What stonden ye idel here al dai?
Update Bible Version
And about the eleventh [hour] he went out, and found others standing; and he says to them, Why do you stand here all the day idle?
Webster's Bible Translation
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
New English Translation
And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here all day without work?'
New King James Version
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, [fn] and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'
New Living Translation
"At five o'clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven't you been working today?'
New Life Bible
About five o'clock he went out and still found others doing nothing. He asked them, ‘Why do you stand here all day and do nothing?'
New Revised Standard
And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?'
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, about the eleventh, going forth, he found others, standing, and saith unto them - Why, here, stand ye, all the day, unemployed?
Douay-Rheims Bible
But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?
Revised Standard Version
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?'
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he went out aboute the eleventhe houre and founde other stondynge ydell and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydell?
Young's Literal Translation
And about the eleventh hour, having gone forth, he found others standing idle, and saith to them, Why here have ye stood all the day idle?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And aboute the eleuenth houre he wete out, and founde other stodynge ydle, and sayde vnto them: Why stonde ye here all the daye ydle?
Mace New Testament (1729)
at last, about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, why do you stand idling thus all day long?
THE MESSAGE
A Story About Workers "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. "Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. "He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?'
Simplified Cowboy Version
"At about five he rode by the saloon and found some cowboys just sittin' there playin' cards and drinkin' whiskey. The rancher asked them, 'Why have y'all just been sittin' around here not doin' anything all day long?'

Contextual Overview

1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 "When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 "And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. 5 "Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'7 "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' 8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.' 9 "When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 "When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the eleventh: Ecclesiastes 9:10, Luke 23:40-43, John 9:4

Why: Proverbs 19:15, Ezekiel 16:49, Acts 17:21, Hebrews 6:12

Reciprocal: Joshua 18:3 - How long are Matthew 20:3 - standing Matthew 20:9 - they received 2 Peter 1:8 - barren

Cross-References

Genesis 3:3
but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'"
Genesis 20:6
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:7
"Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
Genesis 20:18
For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Genesis 26:11
So Abimelech charged all the people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
Genesis 31:7
"Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.
Genesis 35:5
As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
Genesis 39:9
"There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?"
Exodus 34:24
"For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.
Leviticus 6:2
"When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And about the eleventh hour he went out,.... About five o'clock in the afternoon. The Persic version reads it, "the twelfth hour", which was six o'clock in the afternoon, the last hour of the day. The Jews divided their day into twelve hours,

John 11:9 and these twelve hours into four parts; Nehemiah 9:3 each part containing three hours, to which division there is a manifest respect in this parable. These different seasons of the husbandman's going out to hire labourers, may have regard either to the several periods of time, and ages of the world, as before the law, under the law, the times of the Messiah, and the last days; or the various dispensations of the Gospel, first by Christ, and John the Baptist to the Jews, then by the apostles to the same in their first mission, afterwards when their commission was renewed, first to the Jews in Judea, and then to the same among the nations of the world, and last of all to the Gentiles; or to the several stages of human life, and may regard Christ's call of persons in childhood, youth, manhood, and old age; which last may be signified by the eleventh hour, as also the Gentiles, and the remainder of God's elect in the last day:

and found others standing idle; in the same place and position as before: for the state and condition of God's elect, by nature, as it is the same with others, it is the same with them all. The word "idle" is omitted here by the Vulgate Latin, the Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel; but is retained in the Syriac and Persic versions; and stands in the Greek copies:

and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? for being about the eleventh hour, the day was far spent, it was almost gone, a small portion of it remained, but one hour, as appears from

Matthew 20:12.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The eleventh hour - About five o’clock in the afternoon, or when there was but one working hour of the day left.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 20:6. EleventhFive o'clock in the evening, when there was only one hour before the end of the Jewish day, which, in matters of labour, closed at six.


 
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