complete verse (Matthew 20:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 20:6:

  • Uma: “‘In the late afternoon, about five o’clock, he again went walking he met people who were sitting-around. He asked them: ‘Why are you just sitting-around idle [lit., dry] all day long, not working?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then when it was afternoon already he went again to the market and he saw people who were still standing there. He said to them, ‘Why are you just standing here all day long and are not working?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when the sun was about to set, he returned again to the market. And he saw there some people who had no work, and he said, ‘Why are you just sitting around here all afternoon, and you’re not working?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When it was almost five o’clock, he went again to the marketplace and there were still others that he saw there who were just loafing. He said to them, ‘Why did you waste a day just visiting/playing-around?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When the sun was now getting low, he went again. He again found some people just standing-around. He said to them, ‘Why have you been standing around all day, that you haven’t been working?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When it approached five o’clock, again he went to the market. Again he found some people who hadn’t found work. He said to them: ‘How come you have spent the day here and haven’t worked?’ he said.” (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.

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Matthew 20:6

And about the eleventh hour is translated “It was nearly five o’clock” by Good News Translation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch specifies that this was the last time that the man went to the market to secure workers: “But about five o’clock when he went to the market for the last time….”

Standing: see Matthew 20.3.

Why do you stand here idle all day?: the question expresses rebuke rather than surprise. Good News Translation indicates this with the phrase “wasting the whole day.” In other languages the rebuke can be conveyed with a statement and a question: “You have been idle all day. Is that good? (or, Why have you done that?)”

Idle: see comments on Matthew 20.3.

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 20:6



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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