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.
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 20:14:
Uma: “Take your wages and go home! It is my desire to give a wage to the people who came last the same as what I gave to you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Take your (pl.) wages and go home. I want to pay the same wage to the last ones as I pay you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Take it, and go home, because I want that these last ones should be paid just the same as you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “So take your (sing.) wage and go home. If I want the wage of the last-ones to be the same as your (pl.) wage, surely that’s my business.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Fine, get your (sing.) wages and go home. I want to pay those last ones to be put to work the same as I have paid you.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Take your wages for one day of work and go from here. Concerning the workers who came to work last, I want to pay them the same as I paid you.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Take what belongs to you, and go may be more explicitly rendered as in Good News Translation: “Now take your pay and go home” (New English Bible “Take your pay and go home”). With reference to the coin mentioned in the previous verse, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “You have received it, now go.” One scholar, who has done much research on the parables, suggests that go carries the meaning “you have no more business here.” He also indicates that I choose means “it is my firm intention.”
I choose can be rendered impersonally in English, as in “It is my choice” or “It is my wish” (Barclay). However, sentences like “I have decided” or “I want” may be better.
This last translates a masculine singular form in Greek (Good News Translation “this man who was hired last”), but for some languages a plural form may be more natural, especially in light of verses 6-7, 9.
As I give to you is literally “as to you.” When translating at a common language level, it will be expected in some languages that the verb be repeated as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation: (“as much as I gave you”).
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 .
Take your pay: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Take your pay is more literally “what is yours.” It refers to the denarius coin that the worker had just received as pay.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Take what is yours (NET Bible)
-or-
Take your money (God’s Word)
and go: In this context, the verb go indicates that the owner dismissed the worker. He told the worker to leave with his pay.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
and leave
-or-
and go ⌊home⌋
20:14b
I want: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as I want indicates that the owner acted according to his own will.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
I choose (English Standard Version)
-or-
It is my wish/desire
to give: This same verb occurs in 20:4b. Translate it the same way as you did there. In some languages, it will be natural to use the word “pay.” For example:
to pay (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
to give as pay
this last man: In Greek this phrase is more literally “to this last.” In 20:13a the owner responded to one man in the first group of workers. In the same way, he referred to one man in the last group. This continues the theme of “the first” and “the last” throughout this parable.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
to this last man
-or-
to this last person
the same as I gave you: In Greek, this phrase is more literally “as also to you.” The owner chose to pay all the workers the same amount.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
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