The Meaning of Matthew 20:8 Explained

Matthew 20:8

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.

YLT: 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.

Darby: But when the evening was come, the lord of the vineyard says to his steward, Call the workmen and pay them their wages, beginning from the last even to the first.

ASV: And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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?

Context Summary

Matthew 20:1-16 - The Bargaining Spirit Rebuked
This parable originated in Peter's question. He had seen the rich young man go away sorrowful, because he could not meet the test which had been put to him; and he contrasted with that great refusal the swift willingness with which he and his fellow Apostles had left all to follow the Lord Jesus.
"Take care," said Jesus, "or your bargaining for the rewards of the Kingdom, will put you down among the lowest; while they who don't bargain will come out at the top." The last made no agreement; they came in at the eleventh hour, and were only too glad to take the vineyard path, leaving the vine owner to give what he thought right. The first "agreed," taking care to strike a bargain of so much money for so much work. But they would have done better if they had left the payment to the grace of their employer. "For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace, to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed," Romans 4:16, r.v. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 20

1  Jesus, by the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, shows that God is debtor unto no man;
17  foretells his passion;
20  by answering the mother of Zebedee's children, teaches his disciples to be humble;
29  and gives two blind men their sight

What do the individual words in Matthew 20:8 mean?

Evening then having arrived says the master of the vineyard to foreman of him Call the workmen and pay them the wages having begun from the last unto first
Ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης λέγει κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τῷ ἐπιτρόπῳ αὐτοῦ Κάλεσον τοὺς ἐργάτας καὶ ἀπόδος ‹αὐτοῖς› τὸν μισθόν ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἕως πρώτων

Ὀψίας  Evening 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ὀψία 
Sense: late.
γενομένης  having  arrived 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Middle, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
λέγει  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
κύριος  master 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀμπελῶνος  vineyard 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀμπελών  
Sense: a vineyard.
ἐπιτρόπῳ  foreman 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐπίτροπος  
Sense: one to whose care or honour anything has been instructed.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Κάλεσον  Call 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: καλέω  
Sense: to call.
ἐργάτας  workmen 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐργάτης  
Sense: a workman, a labourer.
ἀπόδος  pay 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἀποδίδωμι  
Sense: to deliver, to give away for one’s own profit what is one’s own, to sell.
μισθόν  wages 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: μισθός  
Sense: dues paid for work.
ἀρξάμενος  having  begun 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Middle, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄρχω  
Sense: to be the first to do (anything), to begin.
ἐσχάτων  last 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἔσχατος  
Sense: extreme.
ἕως  unto 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἕως  
Sense: till, until.
πρώτων  first 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: πρῶτος  
Sense: first in time or place.