“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”
The full verse · Matthew 20:15 · KJV
Is it for to I mine ? , ?
Asked by
Landowner: the householder in Jesus' parable, answering the workers who murmured at his generosity (Matthew 20:11-14)
Asked to
Complaining Workers: the labourers hired early in the morning who bore "the burden and heat of the day" and murmured when the last were made equal to them (Matthew 20:10-12)
The Scene
The householder is still answering the worker who complained that the one-hour labourers were paid the same as those who worked all day (Matthew 20:12-14).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionHaving shown that he did the worker no wrong (Matthew 20:13), the householder now goes to the heart of the matter. His first question presses his right to give his own money as he wishes. His second question exposes the real problem: not injustice, but envy. Barnes explains that the Hebrews used an "evil" eye to describe someone "envious and malicious," because envy shows itself in the eye. Gill paraphrases the question: "art thou envious at the good of others, and covetous and greedy to monopolize all to thyself, because I am liberal, kind, and beneficent?"
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe complaining workers make no reply, and the parable ends with no answer from them. The questions answer themselves: the money was the householder's own, and his goodness to others was no wrong to anyone. Jesus closes with the lesson: "So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Evil eye" was a Hebrew way of speaking about envy and stinginess. Barnes cites Deuteronomy 15:9, which warns against letting "thine eye be evil against thy poor brother," and Proverbs 23:6, "him that hath an evil eye." Gill adds that in Jewish writings a "good eye" meant generosity, so an evil eye meant envy and covetousness.
In Greek the second question sets ophthalmos ponēros ("eye evil") against agathos ("good"). The BibleHub interlinear glosses these as "envious" and "generous," which is why the ESV reads, "Or do you begrudge my generosity?"
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThese questions reveal God as both just and good. He is free to give His own gifts as He chooses, and He never does wrong in doing so. Gill writes that God does all things by His sovereign will, "never contrary to justice, truth, and goodness." The problem in the parable is not the master's goodness but the worker's eye.
Matthew Henry describes envy as "an evil eye, which is displeased at the good of others," and calls it "a sin that has neither pleasure, profit, nor honour." He ends with an invitation: "Let us never envy or grudge, but rejoice and praise God for his mercy to others as well as to ourselves." The parable began with Peter asking what the disciples would have (Matthew 19:27). It ends by warning that grace is not a wage to be compared.
Look Closer
What does the householder's second question say was the worker's real problem?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, where has my eye become evil toward someone You have blessed, and how can I learn to rejoice with them?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The householder asked whether the worker's eye was evil because he was good. What does envy usually look like in your heart before you recognize it?
- Tell about a time you were able to celebrate someone else's blessing. What helped you do it?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Envy can hide behind the language of fairness. The worker said he was treated unfairly, but the householder showed that the real issue was his eye. When someone else's blessing stirs resentment in you, ask whether you have actually been wronged, or whether God has simply been good to them.
God's goodness to others is not a threat to you. Matthew Henry urges us to "rejoice and praise God for his mercy to others as well as to ourselves." This does not mean real injustice should be ignored; the point here is that grace given freely is never injustice.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources