Matthew 19:13-20:16

New International Version

The Little Children and Jesus^(A)

¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them^(B) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs^(C) to such as these.”^{(D) 15} When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God^(E)

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life^(F)?”^(G)

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”^(H)

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,^(I) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[a](J) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”^(K)

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,^(L) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,^(M) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(N) Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich^(O) to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”^(P)

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!^(Q) What then will there be for us?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,^(R) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.^{(S) 29} And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[c] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.^{(T) 30} But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.^(U)

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like^(V) a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.^{(W) 2} He agreed to pay them a denarius^[d] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came,^(X) 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.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble^(Y) against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat^(Z) of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend.^(AA) Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’^(AB)

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”^(AC)