Matthew 20:5

5 So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour ^[a] and did the same thing.

Matthew 20:5 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 20:5

Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour
About twelve o'clock, or at noon, and three o'clock in the afternoon. These three last mentioned seasons of the day, were the hours of prayer; see ( Acts 2:15 ) ( 3:1 ) ( 10:9 ) and did likewise: seeing others in the same place, and posture, he called them, and sent them into his vineyard, to labour there, giving them the same promise he did to others.

Matthew 20:5 In-Context

3 About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.

4 ‘You also go into my vineyard,’ he said, ‘and I will pay you whatever is right.’

5 So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.

6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ he asked.

7 ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. So he told them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.’

Footnotes

• [a] That is, about noon and again about three in the afternoon