20:6a

Verses 20:6–7 are about the master’s final trip to the marketplace. You should begin these verses in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

Later
-or-
Then
-or-
Finally (Contemporary English Version)

About the eleventh hour: The phrase the eleventh hour refers to 5 o’clock in the afternoon. It is about one hour before sundown.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

at about five o’clock (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
an hour before sundown (Revised English Bible)
-or-
About 5 p.m. (God’s Word)

he went out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as he went out is the same verb that occurs in 20:3a and 20:5b. The master left his house and went to the market.

20:6b

and found still others standing around: The verb found implies that the master was searching for more workers. Here the verb is not “saw” as in 20:3b.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

⌊looking for some other workers⌋ and found some standing
-or-
and met some other men standing

standing: This is the same verb as in 20:3b. Translate it the same way in both places.

20:6c

Why have you been standing here: This is a real question. It is not a rhetorical question. In some languages, the word Why indicates a rebuke in a rhetorical question. If that is true in your language, you may need to change the form of the question. For example:

How is it that you have been standing here…?

have you been standing here: The form of the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as standing indicates that these men had been waiting in the marketplace for a while.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

you have been standing here

all day long: This is a slight exaggeration, because the day was not yet over.

Here is another way to translate this whole clause:

Why haven’t you been working today? (New Living Translation (2004))

doing nothing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates doing nothing means that these men were not working. They were waiting to be hired. Your translation should not imply that they were lazy or did not want to work.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

idle (English Standard Version)
-or-
waiting for a job

This same word occurs in 20:3b. Translate it the same way in both places.

he asked: The pronoun he refers to the landowner. The verb asked introduces a question.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

the landowner asked them

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