The last workers to be hired are paid first (v. 8), a detail that anticipates the great reversal affirmed in verse 16. When the workers hired early in the day see that the ones hired later receive a denarius for their toil (v. 9), they expect a higher reward for themselves. However, they receive only the amount agreed upon in verse 2 (v. 10), which triggers bitter complaints against the landowner (vv. 11–12). The verb translated “grumble” (NSRV) is common in the New Testament, where it usually refers