Jesus Uses a Story About Farm Workers

20   ¹"The kingdom of heaven is like a man that owned some land. The man grew grapes on his land. One morning, the man went out very early to hire some other people to work in his field. ²The man agreed to pay the workers one silver coin* for working that day. Then the man sent the people into the field to work. ³"At about nine o'clock the man went to the market place and saw some other people standing there. These people were doing nothing. ⁴So the man said to them, 'If you go and work in my field, I will pay you what your work is worth.' ⁵So the people went to work in the field. "The man went out again about twelve o'clock and again at three o'clock. Both times the man hired some other people to work in his field. ⁶At about five o'clock the man went to the market place again. He saw some other people standing there. The man asked them, 'Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?' ⁷"The people said, 'No person gave us a job.' "The man said to them, 'Then you can go and work in my field.' ⁸"At the end of the day, the owner of the field said to the boss of all the workers, 'Call the workers and pay all of them. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the workers I hired first.' ⁹"The workers that were hired at five o'clock came to get their pay. Each worker got one silver coin.* ¹⁰Then those workers that were hired first came to get their pay. Those workers thought they would be paid more than the other workers. But each one of those workers also received one silver coin. ¹¹When they got their silver coin, these workers complained to the man that owned the land. ¹²The workers said, 'Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.' ¹³"But the man that owned the field said to one of those workers, 'Friend, I am being fair with you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. Right? ¹⁴So take your pay and go. I want to give the man that was hired last the same pay that I gave you. ¹⁵I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good [to those people]?' ¹⁶"So the people that have the last place now will have the first place in the future. And the people that have the first place now will have the last place in the future."

silver coin A Roman denarius. One coin was the average pay for one day's work.