Matthew Chapter 20 verse 13 Holy Bible

ASV Matthew 20:13

But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling?
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BBE Matthew 20:13

But he in answer said to one of them, Friend, I do you no wrong: did you not make an agreement with me for a penny?
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DARBY Matthew 20:13

But he answering said to one of them, [My] friend, I do not wrong thee. Didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?
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KJV Matthew 20:13

But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
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WBT Matthew 20:13


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WEB Matthew 20:13

"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn't you agree with me for a denarius?
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YLT Matthew 20:13

`And he answering said to one of them, Comrade, I do no unrighteousness to thee; for a denary didst not thou agree with me?
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 13. - He answered one of them. The Lord condescended to show, not to all the labourers, but to one of them - the ringleader probably - the futility of the ground of his murmur. Christ often explains himself to his friends, while he refuses further elucidation to enemies and the hardened. Friend (ἑταῖρε). Not a term of affection, or special good will, but one of indifference, addressed to an inferior. It was the word used to Judas (Matthew 26:50) when he came to betray his Lord, "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" I do thee no wrong. The labourer had really nothing to complain of in strict justice; he had received the full amount of the stipulated wages. But he very naturally felt that he had not been fairly dealt with. He would say to himself, "If one hour's work, and that in the cool of the evening, is deemed worth a penny, surely a whole day's labour, in the full heat of the sun, ought to deserve a higher remuneration." The difficulty here must be felt by every one. Nor is the master's solution perfect; it would scarcely commend itself to the dissatisfied murmurer. And doubtless it is not intended to be complete.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(13) Friend.--The word so translated (literally, comrade, companion) always carries, with it in our Lord's lips a tone of reproof. It is addressed to the man who had not on a wedding garment (Matthew 22:12), and to the traitor Judas (Matthew 26:50).I do thee no wrong.--The answer of the house holder is that of one who is just where claims are urged on the ground of justice, generous where he sees that generosity is right. Had the first-called labourers shared this generosity, they would not have grudged the others the wages that they themselves received, and would have found their own reward in sympathy with their joy. This would be true even in the outer framework of the parable. It is a fortiori true when we pass to its spiritual interpretation. No disciple who had entered into his Master's spirit would grudge the repentant thief his rest in Paradise (Luke 23:43). No consistent Christian thinks that he ought to have some special reward because he sees a death-bed repentance crowned by a peace, the foretaste of eternal life, as full and assured as his own.