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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard...

A parable comparing the realm of the skies to hiring workers throughout the day.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 20:8 ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης λέγει ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ αὐτοῦ Κάλεσον τοὺς ἐργάτας καὶ ἀπόδος τὸν μισθὸν ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἕως τῶν πρώτων.

KJV Verse

Matthew 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 20:8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

What His Listeners Heard:

With evening, however, occurring, the master of the vineyard said to that manager of his, "Call the workmen and deliver that compensation, beginning from the last until the first."

Lost In Translation:

As it is in most parables until the "punch line" at the end, that has a double meaning, which is the whole point of the story. Notice what the Lord of the vineyard is doing. He tells his steward to intentionally start paying the last hired, making those who were hired first wait. The last two key words here, "last" and "first" used commonly in Jesus's lessons. They are full of double meanings. While, in describing time, they mean "last" to "first" or "the ending" to "the beginning," when describing the state of people, they mean the "lowest" to "the highest."

KJV w/Translation Issues :

So when even was come(WW), the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give(CW) them(OS) their(WW) hire, beginning from the last unto(CW) the first.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.