What Does Matthew 20:9 Mean in the King James?

And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

Matthew 20:9 · 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 late arrival receives a full share: in this vineyard, the gift is not prorated by the hours worked.

THE MEANING

A short time in the work does not make what you receive partial. The eleventh-hour workers each receive a whole penny, even as the day is nearly over.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

“I came too late, so what I receive must be less.” This verse gives the latecomers a full share.

THE ROOT

μισθωθέντες

misthōthentes

GROWS FROM

μισθ-

misth-

Wages, pay, or hiring.

English can make being hired and receiving a reward feel like separate ideas, but the Greek ⁨μισθ-⁩ word family connects them through wages. Here, that wage vocabulary sits beside a striking detail: those arriving near the end receive a full penny, not a fraction based on their hours.

ALSO GROWS

misthos: Wage, pay, or reward.

μισθός

This is the noun for the pay given to a worker; Matthew 20:8 uses it when the landowner orders the workers’ hire to be paid.

misthoō: To hire or pay wages.

μισθόω

This is the verb behind “hired,” naming the wage relationship that frames the latecomers’ arrival.

THE PATTERN

God’s welcome and provision are not prorated according to how long someone has been able to arrive or work.

Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

Matthew 20:14 · KJVThe landowner states the pattern plainly: the last worker receives the same gift as the first.

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Isaiah 55:1 · KJVThe invitation to receive what sustains life reaches even those with no money to offer.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Luke 23:43 · KJVAt the very end of his life, the condemned man receives the promise of being with Jesus that day.

THE THREAD

So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

Matthew 20:8 · KJV

The word “hire” here is ⁨μισθός⁩ (misthos), from the same ⁨μισθ-⁩ family as “hired” in verse 9. The order begins with the last, and the next verse shows those late workers receiving the full wage.

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