Matthew 20:3 · American Standard Version

And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;
Matthew 20:3 in the American Standard Version reads: “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;”. Read it in the full context of Matthew 20, or compare how other translations render it below.

Matthew 20:3 in Other Translations

KJV And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
WEB He went out about the third hour,and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
ASV And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;
YLT ‘And having gone forth about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle,
WBT And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place,
DBY And having gone out about [the] third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle;

Commentary on Matthew 20:3

Expositions from classic Bible commentators.

John Gill · Matthew 20:3

And he went out about the third hour,.... About nine o'clock in the morning,

and saw others standing idle in the market place: the place where labourers used to be hired: and may design the world, because a place full of people, and of great wickedness, for the whole world lies in it; a place of trade and traffic in worldly things, and likewise of worldly and carnal pleasure, and also of idleness. Now God's elect before calling, are in this place: they are natives of it, have their conversation according to it: here Christ came in person, and here he sends his ministers, his Gospel, to find them out, and by his Spirit and grace he calls them from hence; so that afterwards they are no more of it, though they are in it: but before conversion they belong to it, and their posture then is standing idle; being sluggish, and slothful in business, unwilling to work, and afraid of a little danger and trouble, sauntering away their time in carnal pleasures, and so clothed with rags, and in a starving, famishing condition: but Christ's eye is upon them; he observes, and takes notice of them in this disagreeable position and situation, and speaks of them in the following manner.

Read John Gill's full commentary on Matthew 20 →

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Matthew 20:3

And he went out about the third hour--about nine o'clock, or after a fourth of the working day had expired: the day of twelve hours was reckoned from six to six.

and saw others standing idle in the market place--unemployed.

Read Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's full commentary on Matthew 20 →

Browse all Bible commentaries →

Cross References for Matthew 20:3

Related passages, ranked by how often readers connect them. Cross-reference data from openbible.info (CC-BY).

Questions about Matthew 20:3

What does Matthew 20:3 say?

Matthew 20:3 in the American Standard Version reads: “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;” Read it in the full context of Matthew 20, alongside the classic commentary on this page.

Where is Matthew 20:3 found in the Bible?

Matthew 20:3 is in the book of Matthew, chapter 20, verse 3, in the New Testament.

What Bible translation is Matthew 20:3 shown in?

This is the American Standard Version (ASV), a public-domain translation. You can compare how other translations render Matthew 20:3 in the table on this page.

Share this