The householder wanted to know why these men had done nothing all day. The day was nearly over. Barnes explains that the eleventh hour was "about five o'clock in the afternoon," when only one working hour was left. The question opens the way for the men to explain themselves and for the householder to act. Gill notes that the question itself shows how little of the day remained. The householder could have passed them by; instead he stopped and asked.

The men answered, "Because no man hath hired us" (Matthew 20:7). The householder did not scold them. He said, "Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive" (Matthew 20:7). At evening these late workers were paid first, and "they received every man a penny" (Matthew 20:9), the same wage promised to those hired at dawn (Matthew 20:2).

The householder goes out early, then at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours (Matthew 20:1-6). Gill notes that the Jews divided their day into twelve hours, and Barnes places the eleventh hour at about five o'clock, "when there was but one working hour of the day left." Men looking for work stood in the marketplace (Matthew 20:3).

The "penny" was the Roman denarius, the wage agreed with the first workers (Matthew 20:2). Matthew Henry calls it "wages then enough for the day's support." The Greek word for idle is argoi, which Thayer defines as "inactive, idle," "free from labor."

This question shows a master who keeps going out to find workers, even when the day is almost gone. The parable begins with "For," and Barnes says that word ties it to the saying just before it: "many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first" (Matthew 19:30; Matthew 20:16).

Commentators read the late hire in different ways. Matthew Henry thinks the parable's direct object "seems to be" that the Jews were called first and the Gentiles brought in later "to equal privileges," and he applies the question to every reader: "Till we are hired into the service of God, we are standing all the day idle." Gill suggests the eleventh hour may signify those called in old age, and also the Gentiles. Barnes disagrees. He thinks the parable is about rewards among Christ's followers, not the call of the Gentiles, and teaches "one truth, and but one." Both readings agree on the main point: the late workers are welcomed and paid by the master's choice, not by their hours.