UTN uW Translation Notes:

Matthew 20 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

9. Jesus ministers in Judea (19:1-22:46) * The parable of the denarius wage (20:1–16) * Jesus predicts his death and resurrection (20:17–19) * Jesus and the disciples speak about who will be great (20:20–28) * Jesus heals two blind men (20:29–34)

Special Concepts in this Chapter

Hiring people to work in a vineyard

In 20:1–7, Jesus speaks about a master of a house hiring people to work in his vineyard. These people were day laborers who would wait in the marketplace for someone to offer them a job. Then, they would agree with the person hiring them on how much money they would make before starting the job. If this is not a practice that your readers would be familiar with, make sure that what is happening is clear to your readers.

Sitting at Jesus’ right and left hand

In 20:21 and 20:23, Jesus and the mother of the sons of Zebedee refer to sitting at Jesus’ right hand and at his left hand. They are referring to the places of honor at the right and left side of a king or ruler. The people who sit in these places have authority and are respected the most after the king or ruler. Make sure that this meaning is clear in your translation. See the notes on these two verses for translation options.

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

The parable of the denarius wage

In 20:1-15, Jesus tells a story about a master of a house who hires people throughout the day to work in his vineyard. He agrees with the first people he hires to pay them a denarius each. However, when he pays everyone at the end of the day, he pays each worker a denarius, even those who only worked for one hour. When the workers who were hired first complain about this, he points out that he can do what he wants with his own money, and they agreed to work for one denarius each. Jesus uses this story to illustrate the point he makes before (19:30) and after (20:16) the story: people who are first will be last, and people who are last will be first. What Jesus means is that the rewards and blessings people receive do not always match what people expect, and God can do whatever he wants with the blessings and rewards he gives. While you should not explain the meaning more than Jesus does, make sure that your translation fits with what Jesus is illustrating. (See: figs-parables)

Drinking the cup

In 20:22–23, Jesus refers to a “cup” from which he is going to drink. He is referring to a figure of speech in the Old Testament that refers to experiencing suffering and pain (for example, see Psalm 75:8 and Isaiah 51:17). He means that he will experience suffering, and his disciples must be ready to experience it as well. Since this figure of speech is from the Old Testament, if possible you should preserve it or express the idea in simile form. (See: figs-metaphor)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

Singular and plural forms of “you”

Many of the forms of “you” in this chapter appear in instructions that Jesus gives to his disciples or in speeches that the master of the house gives in the parable. Because of this, many of the forms of “you” in this chapter are plural. You should assume forms of “you” are plural unless a note specifies that the form is singular. (See: figs-yousingular)