¹‘For the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a householder, who went forth with the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard, ²and having agreed with the workmen for a denary a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

³‘And having gone forth about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle, ⁴and to these he said, Go ye—also ye—to the vineyard, and whatever may be righteous I will give you; ⁵and they went away. ‘Again, having gone forth about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did in like manner. ⁶And 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? ⁷they say to him, Because no one did hire us; he saith to them, Go ye—ye also—to the vineyard, and whatever may be righteous ye shall receive.

⁸‘And evening having come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward, Call the workmen, and pay them the reward, having begun from the last—unto the first. ⁹And they of about the eleventh hour having come, did receive each a denary.

¹⁰‘And the first having come, did suppose that they shall receive more, and they received, they also, each a denary, ¹¹and having received it, they were murmuring against the householder, saying, ¹²that These, the last, wrought one hour, and thou didst make them equal to us, who were bearing the burden of the day—and the heat.

¹³‘And he answering said to one of them, Comrade, I do no unrighteousness to thee; for a denary didst not thou agree with me? ¹⁴take that which is thine, and go; and I will to give to this, the last, also as to thee; ¹⁵is it not lawful to me to do what I will in mine own? is thine eye evil because I am good? ¹⁶So the last shall be first, and the first last, for many are called, and few chosen.’

Read in Logos

Public Domain.