complete verse (Matthew 20:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 20:13:

  • Uma: “‘The owner of the field retorted: ‘I did not do wrong to you, friends. Didn’t we (incl.) have a promise that you would receive a wage of one silver coin per day?” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the owner of the land said to one, ‘Friend, I did not deceive you. Our (dual) agreement was (lit. our (dual) mutual promise was) that I would pay you (pl.) the wage for one day’s work.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the man said to one of them he said, ‘Friend, I haven’t mistreated you because what we agree on was one piece of silver, and that’s what I gave you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “”Listen (sing.) to this, comrade,’ said the land owner to one of them. ‘I did not cheat you (pl.), because we agreed-together for one denario, isn’t that so?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That owner said to one person, ‘Friend, it’s not like I’m tricking you (sing.). Isn’t it so that we (incl.) agreed that the (usual) wage for a whole day’s work is what I would pay you (pl.)?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The field-owner said to the work who was talking to him: ‘Listen, man, I haven’t cheated you. After all we agreed that for one day of work I would pay you one money of the denario.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

The Late-Arriving Workers

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

Translation commentary on Matthew 20:13

One of them is understood by some scholars to mean “a certain one of them,” referring to the one who was objecting the most. But no translation renders in this way, which is probably the wisest choice.

Friend is a polite way of addressing someone whose name is unknown (though it may also be used of one’s close companions); it indicates that the person who uses it is both friendly and approachable. The word occurs only two other times in the New Testament (Matt 22.12; 26.50), and in each of these three occurrences the person addressed is in the wrong. “My friend” will be better in some languages.

I am doing you no wrong is somewhat awkward for English speakers. Good News Translation has “I have not cheated you,” New English Bible “I am not being unfair to you,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “I do you no injustice.”

Did you not agree with me for a denarius? translates a rhetorical question which expects the answer “Yes.” For speakers of English the question form and the word order (did you not) are somewhat difficult; but it is possible to do away with both the question and the unusual negative construction: “you agreed to do a day’s work for one silver coin” (Good News Translation). Other restructurings are also possible. For example, “you agreed” may be made to read either “you agreed with me” or “we agreed.” One may also translate “We agreed that you would work a full day, and I would pay you a full day’s wages.” Perhaps the most natural way in English is to add a negative question at the end of the statement, as in “You agreed to work for a denarius (or, a normal day’s pay), didn’t you? (or, isn’t that so?)”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 20:13



20:13a

But he answered: In this verse, the owner responded to the workers’ complaint. He responded by disagreeing with them. The Berean Standard Bible shows this by starting his response with the conjunction But. In some languages, it will also be natural to begin this verse with a conjunction like But. In other languages, it will not be natural.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He responded
-or-
The owner said (God’s Word)

one of them: The pronoun them refers to the workers who complained. A group of workers complained, but the owner responded to just one of them.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

to one of those workers (New Century Version)

20:13b

Friend: The owner responded to one of the workers by calling him Friend. Here are some reasons why the owner probably used this word:

(a) He wanted to show in a friendly way that he did not agree with him.

(b) He was using a mild rebuke.

Use a word or phrase in your language that has a similar function. For example:

My friend/comrade
-or-
Listen, friend (Good News Translation)

I am not being unfair to you: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am not being unfair to you is more literally “I am not being unjust to you.” In this context, the master is saying that he has not cheated the worker.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

I have not cheated you (Good News Translation)
-or-
I am being fair to you. (New Century Version)
-or-
I have not deceived/tricked you.

you: In Greek, this pronoun is singular.

20:13c

Did you not agree with me on one denarius?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that the master and the worker had agreed on a denarius.

There are two ways to translate this emphasis:

• As a rhetorical question expecting a “Yes” response. For example:

You and I agreed to a denarius for the day, did we not?
-or-
We agree on a denarius, isn’t it so?

• As a statement. The statement could follow a short command. For example:

You and I agreed that I would pay you a denarius.

-or-

⌊Remember,⌋ you agreed that I would pay you normal day’s wage.

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

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