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Matthew 20:8
ESV And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’
NIV 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.'
NASB Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’
CSB When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told his foreman, 'Call the workers and give them their pay, starting with the last and ending with the first.'
NLT That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.
KJV 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.

What does Matthew 20:8 mean?

The workday in Jesus' parable is complete. The master of a household has hired five different groups of people to work in his vineyard throughout the day. The first group was hired early in the morning. The last group was hired around 5 p.m. Now the time has come for the master to pay all the people who participated in the work.

He instructs his foreman, the person in direct charge of the workers, to line them up for their pay from the last hired to the first hired.

Jesus is telling this story, in part, to answer Peter's question about what he and the other disciples will receive in the kingdom of heaven since they have left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus has assured them that they will receive a rich reward, in addition to inheriting eternal life (Matthew 19:27–30). He then said, though, that many who are first will be last and the last first. This parable explains what that means.
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