Matthew 20:13

New Testament Gospel ASV (1901)

What does Matthew 20:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling?
Matthew 20:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Matthew 20

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13But he answered and said to one of them, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a shilling?

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But he answered one of them, etc.] Who was the forwardest and loudest in his complaints, and represented the rest; and said, friend, I do thee no wrong; by giving all alike, the same privileges and blessings to the last, as to the first, since nothing was withheld from him. And indeed the Lord does no wrong to any, by the distinction which he makes among his creatures: he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works: he does no injury to the evil angels, by choosing the good angels, and confirming them in the estate in which they were created; when the others are reserved in chains of darkness, to the judgment of the great day; or by choosing fallen men, in Christ, and making…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“But he answered one of them--doubtless the spokesman of the complaining party. and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? &c.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Friend, I do thee no wrong - I have fully complied with the contract. We had an agreement: I have paid all that I promised. If I choose to give a penny to another man if he labors little or not at all if I should choose to give all my property away to others, it would not affect this contract with you: it is fully met; and with my own with that on which you have no further claim I may do as I please. So, if Christians are just, and pay their lawful debts, and injure no one, the world has no right to complain if they give the rest of their property to the poor, or devote it to send the gospel to the pagan, or to release the prisoner or the captive. It is their own. They have a right to do…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Friend: Mat 22:12, Mat 26:50 I do: Gen 18:25; Job 34:8-12, Job 34:17, Job 34:18, Job 35:2, Job 40:8; Rom 9:14, Rom 9:15, Rom 9:20 Matthew 20:14”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification