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Laborers in the Vineyard

¹ "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And ^(a)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?' ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.' ⁸ And ^(b)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^(c)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^(d)the scorching heat.' ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ^(e)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take ^(f)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ^15 (g)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^(h)do you begrudge my generosity?'^{[b] 16} So ⁽ⁱ⁾the last will be first, and the first last."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^17 (j)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ "See, ^(k)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^(l)condemn him to death ¹⁹ and ^(m)deliver him over to the Gentiles ⁽ⁿ⁾to be mocked and flogged and ^(o)crucified, and he will be raised on ^(p)the third day."

A Mother's Request

^20 (q)Then ^(r)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^(s)kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine ^(t)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^(u)in your kingdom." ²² Jesus answered, ^(v)"You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(w)to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." ²³ He said to them, ^(x)"You will drink ^(y)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^(z)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(aa)prepared by my Father." ²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, ^(ab)"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ^(ac)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ^26 (ad)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^{[c] 27} and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^{[d] 28} even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^(ae)to serve, and ^(af)to give his life as a ransom for ^(ag)many."

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^29 (ah)And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord,^[e] have mercy on us, ^(ai)Son of David!" ³¹ The crowd ^(aj)rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" ³³ They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.