Matthew Chapter 20 verse 3 Holy Bible
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing in the marketplace idle;
read chapter 20 in ASV
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others in the market-place doing nothing;
read chapter 20 in BBE
And having gone out about [the] third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle;
read chapter 20 in DARBY
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
read chapter 20 in KJV
read chapter 20 in WBT
He went out about the third hour,{Time was measured from sunrise to sunset, so the third hour would be about 9:00 AM.} and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
read chapter 20 in WEB
`And having gone forth about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market-place idle,
read chapter 20 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - The third hour. It seems that at this time the Jews divided the day, reckoned between sunrise and sunset, into twelve equal parts, the length of these divisions varying according to the season. The day in Palestine at longest consisted of fourteen European hours twelve minutes, and at shortest of nine hours forty-eight minutes, so that the difference between the longest and shortest division of the so called Jewish "hour" was twenty-two minutes. It is usual to consider the Hebrew day as lasting from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the sixth hour corresponding to our noon, the first hour being 7 o'clock and the third 9 a.m. This estimate, though not absolutely correct, is near enough to the fact to serve all expository purposes. The four periods mentioned in the parable are quarters of the working day, in which a proportional part of the day's wages might be earned. Standing idle in the marketplace. The Greek agora, the Roman forum, and the Eastern marketplace, was the usual place where idlers and expectant labourers gathered together. Such a scene may often nowadays be witnessed in Oriental cities, and indeed at our own docks, and in many of our small country towns. It must be supposed that the labourers now hired either were not present when the householder first went forth, or that they had then rejected his offer, but now thought better of it. And so, in the case of the others later on.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) About the third hour.--Reckoning the day after the Jewish mode, as beginning at 6 A.M., this would bring us to 8 A.M. The "market-place" of a town was the natural place in which the seekers for casual labour were to be found waiting for employment. In the meaning which underlies the parable we may see a reference to those who, like St. Matthew (Matthew 9:9) and the disciples called in Matthew 8:19-22, were summoned after the sons of Jonas and of Zebedee.
