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The Message Bible MSG
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
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"God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay them a denariusfor the day and sent them into his vineyard.
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They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
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"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed.
4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’
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He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage.
5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
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They went.
6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
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At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?
7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
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' "They said, 'Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
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"When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.'
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.
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"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar.
10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
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When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar.
11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
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Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager,
12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
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'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?
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"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we?
14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.
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So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you.
15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
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Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
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"Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."
17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them,
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Jesus, now well on the way up to Jerusalem, took the Twelve off to the side of the road and said,
18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death
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"Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death.
19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
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They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive."
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
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It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
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"What do you want?" Jesus asked. She said, "Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand."
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”“We can,” they answered.
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Jesus responded, "You have no idea what you're asking." And he said to James and John, "Are you capable of drinking the cup that I'm about to drink?" They said, "Sure, why not?"
23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
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Jesus said, "Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that's not my business. My Father is taking care of that."
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
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When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
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So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads.
26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
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It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.
27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
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Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served - and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.
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As they were leaving Jericho, a huge crowd followed.
30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
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Suddenly they came upon two blind men sitting alongside the road. When they heard it was Jesus passing, they cried out, "Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!"
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
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The crowd tried to hush them up, but they got all the louder, crying, "Master, have mercy on us! Mercy, Son of David!"
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
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Jesus stopped and called over, "What do you want from me?"
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
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They said, "Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!"
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
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Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.