For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when evening 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. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen... — Matthew 20:1–16, King James Version Interpretation The word translated "penny" in the King James Version of this parable is the denarius, a silver coin which was the usual day's wage for a labourer. The hours here are measured starting at about 6:00 AM, so that the eleventh hour is between about 4:00 and 5:00 PM.[2] The workers are poor men working as temporary farmhands during the harvest season, and the employer realizes that they would all need a full day's pay to feed their families. The payment at evening follows Old Testament guidelines. Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee. This parable stresses God's unmerited grace, rather than any sense of "earning" God's favour. In this way it resembles the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The parable has often been interpreted to mean that even those who are converted late in life earn equal rewards along with those converted early. An alternative interpretation identifies the early laborers as Jews, some of whom resent the late-comers (Gentiles) being welcomed as equals in God's Kingdom.[3] However, Arland J. Hultgren writes: While interpreting and applying this parable, the question inevitably arises: Who are the eleventh-hour workers in our day? We might want to name them, such as deathbed converts or persons who are typically despised by those who are longtime veterans and more fervent in their religious commitment. But it is best not to narrow the field too quickly. At a deeper level, we are all the eleventh-hour workers; to change the metaphor, we are all honored guests of God in the kingdom. It is not really necessary to decide who the eleventh-hour workers are. The point of the parable — both at the level of Jesus and the level of Matthew's Gospel — is that God saves by grace, not by our worthiness. That applies to all of us.[4] Some commentators have used the parable to justify the principle of a "living wage",[5] though generally conceding that this is not the main point of the parable.[5] An example is John Ruskin, who quotes the parable in the title of his book Unto This Last. Ruskin does not discuss the religious meaning of the parable but rather its social and economic implications.

When all the overwork of life Is finished once, and fallen asleep We shrink no more beneath the knife, o / o / o / o / But having sown prepare to reap; / Delivered from the crossway rough, Delivered from the thorny scourge, Delivered from the tossing surge, Then shall we find—(please God!) —it is enough? Not in this world of hope deferred, This world of perishable stuff; Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard, Nor heart conceived that full ‘enough’; o / o / o / o / Here moans the separating sea, o / o / o / o / Here harvests fail, here breaks the heart; There God shall join and no man part, o / o / o / o / o / All one in Christ, so one—(please God!)—with me.

When all the overwork of life Is finished once, and fallen asleep We shrink no more beneath the knife, But having sown prepare to reap; Delivered from the crossway rough, Delivered from the thorny scourge, Delivered from the tossing surge, Then shall we find—(please God!) —it is enough?