Matthew 20:1–34

¹“For the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.²When he had agreed with the workers for a de‧nar′i‧us a day, he sent them forth into his vineyard.³Going out also about the third hour, he saw others standing unemployed in the marketplace;⁴and to those he said, ‘YOU​ also, go into the vineyard, and whatever is just I will give ​YOU.’⁵So off they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise.⁶Finally, about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, ‘Why have ​YOU​ been standing here all day unemployed?’⁷They said to him, ‘Because nobody has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘YOU​ too go into the vineyard.’

⁸“When it became evening, the master of the vineyard said to his man in charge, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, proceeding from the last to the first.’⁹When the eleventh‐hour men came, they each received a de‧nar′i‧us.¹⁰So, when the first came, they concluded they would receive more; but they also received pay at the rate of a de‧nar′i‧us.¹¹On receiving it they began to murmur against the householder¹²and said, ‘These last put in one hour’s work; still you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day and the burning heat!’¹³But in reply to one of them he said, ‘Fellow, I do you no wrong. You agreed with me for a de‧nar′i‧us, did you not?¹⁴Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last one the same as to you.¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own things? Or is your eye wicked because I am good?’¹⁶In this way the last ones will be first, and the first ones last.”

¹⁷Being now about to go up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve disciples off privately and said to them on the road:¹⁸“Look! We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered up to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,¹⁹and will deliver him up to [men of] the nations to make fun of and to scourge and to impale, and the third day he will be raised up.”

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zeb′e‧dee approached him with her sons, doing obeisance and asking for something from him.²¹He said to her: “What do you want?” She said to him: “Give the word that these my two sons may sit down, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”²²Jesus said in answer: “YOU​ men do not know what ​YOU​ are asking for. Can ​YOU​ drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him: “We can.”²³He said to them: “YOU​ will indeed drink my cup, but this sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten others heard of this, they became indignant at the two brothers.²⁵But Jesus, calling them to him, said: “YOU​ know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them and the great men wield authority over them.²⁶This is not the way among ​YOU; but whoever wants to become great among ​YOU​ must be ​YOUR​ minister,²⁷and whoever wants to be first among ​YOU​ must be ​YOUR​ slave.²⁸Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”

²⁹Now as they were going out of Jer′i‧cho a great crowd followed him.³⁰And, look! two blind men sitting beside the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying: “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”³¹But the crowd sternly told them to keep silent; yet they cried all the louder, saying: “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”³²So Jesus stopped, called them and said: “What do ​YOU​ want me to do for ​YOU?”³³They said to him: “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”³⁴Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received sight, and they followed him.