What Does Matthew 20:11 Mean in the King James?

And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

Matthew 20:11 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The complaint begins after the wage is in their hands: receiving what was promised does not quiet the comparison with what another receives.

THE MEANING

The reader can receive what was promised and still find attention turning toward another person’s share. Here the muttering takes shape as a charge against the one who gives, while the wage remains in hand. The verse holds both facts together.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

This verse undoes the belief that receiving what was agreed upon automatically quiets resentment: the workers receive the wage and still grumble over another’s share.

THE ROOT

γογγύζω

gongyzō

GROWS FROM

γογγυζ-

gongyz-

To mutter or grumble, especially in a low, dissatisfied voice.

“murmured” in this verse is gongyzō. The Greek word carries the sound of muttering, so the complaint begins as a low grumble before it becomes an accusation against the householder. English gives the action a broad label; the Greek lets you hear its quiet, simmering quality.

ALSO GROWS

gongysmos: murmuring or grumbling

γογγυσμός

This noun names the same low complaint as an ongoing expression, showing that the verse’s muttering belongs to a wider word family.

gongystēs: a grumbler or murmurer

γογγυστής

This related word describes someone marked by grumbling, connecting the sound of this moment to a recognizable posture.

THE PATTERN

Murmuring turns received provision into a complaint against the giver when another measure becomes the focus.

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

Exodus 16:2 · KJVThe congregation’s murmuring likewise turns its attention toward the people through whom provision comes.

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

John 6:41 · KJVThe claim of bread from heaven draws the same low, dissatisfied response toward its giver.

Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

1 Corinthians 10:10 · KJVThe repeated form of the word shows murmuring as a recurring response that can take hold around provision.

THE THREAD

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

John 6:41 · KJV

Both verses use the Greek verb ⁨γογγύζω⁩ (gongyzō), “to mutter or grumble.” In Matthew the grumbling follows a wage received; in John it follows a claim about bread from heaven, the same low complaint gathers around what the giver provides.

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