New Testament Verses on Paydays

Matthew 20:8 (ESV) And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’

This is part of a larger story, but this verse shows a consistency in Jesus’ teaching and the commands in the Old Testament.

Luke 10:7 (ESV) And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Romans 4:4 (ESV) Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

1 Timothy 5:18 (ESV) For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

Here we again see a consistency in the need to pay the wage. These verses do not address when the wage is to be paid, but also offer no relief in paying the day it is earned.

James 5:4 (ESV) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

This verse leaves a question of what is meant by “kept back by fraud?” Clearly if you agree to pay a dollar and pay nothing you have defrauded the laborers. This also applies if you agree to pay a dollar and only pay fifty cents. It fits the context of the other verses we examined that if you agree to pay a dollar the following week and do so you are as guilty as the one who paid nothing at all.

Old Testament << 2

3: New Testament

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