20:12a
These men who were hired last: This phrase refers to the last men whom the master hired. These were the men whom he hired at 5 o’clock.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
These last workers (God’s Word)
-or-
These men who were hired last (New International Version)
-or-
These ⌊men whom you hired⌋ last
This phrase is an important link to the topic of the “first will be last, and the last will be first” (see 19:30). It is important to keep the word last here.
worked only one hour: The phrase one hour refers to a short period of time compared to the twelve hours that the first men worked.
The word only is not in the Greek text, but most English versions include it. This word helps to make clear that the men were complaining.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
worked only for a short time
-or-
worked only at the end
20:12b
and: In 20:12b, the first men complain of an unexpected result. The last men worked only one hour. So the first men expected that less work would result in less pay. But the master paid the last workers the same as the first workers.
Here are some other ways to introduce this unexpected result:
But (New Century Version)
-or-
Yet (God’s Word)
you have made them equal to us: This clause means that the master acted towards the last workers in the same way as he did the first workers. In this context, it refers to the master giving the same amount of money to the last workers as he gave to the first workers.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You treated them in the same way that you treated us
-or-
you paid them the same that you did us (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us (New Living Translation (2004))
The first workers did not complain about how much money they received. Rather they were jealous that those hired last got the same amount.
them: The pronoun them refers to the last workers whom the master hired.
us: The pronoun us refers to the first group of workers whom the master hired. It does not refer to any other workers. If you have inclusive and exclusive pronouns in your language, choose the pronoun that refers to the first group.
20:12c
Verse 20:12c is a relative clause. It is a sentence that explains something about the pronoun “us” in 20:12b. In some languages, it will be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:
We bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat.
who have borne the burden: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as borne means “carry.” To “carry the burden of the day” is figurative speech. It refers to doing a day of hard work. The first workers worked hard all day, not the last workers. The first workers did most of the work that day. In that sense, they carried the burden.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
we worked hard all day (God’s Word)
-or-
We have done most of the work…all day (NIRV)
-or-
We endured working all day
and the scorching heat of the day: The Greek noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as scorching heat comes from a verb that means “burn up.” It refers to the heat of the middle of the day when the sun is shining strongly. The ones hired last did not experience the hot sun when they worked.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
in the hot sun (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
in all the heat (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
while it was hot
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