Matthew 20:6:18Matt.20.6.W18TAB
ἀργοί;
argoi
“idle”
- Transliteration
- ar-GOI
- Extended
- ar-GOI
- IPA
- /ar.ˈgoi/
Meaning by language
- English
- idle
Greek · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Alpha | ah — as in father | |
| Rho | r — rolled r | |
| Gamma | gh — guttural | |
| Omicron | o — as in omit (short) | |
| Iota | i — as in machine |
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The word
Word in context
- word
ar-GOI
- clause
TI HÔ-de hes-TÊ-ka-te HO-lên TÊN hê-ME-ran ar-GOI
- sentence
pe-RI DE TÊN hen-de-KA-tên ek-sel-THÔN HEU-ren AL-lous hes-TÔ-tas KAI LE-yei au-TOIS TI HÔ-de hes-TÊ-ka-te HO-lên TÊN hê-ME-ran ar-GOI
Exegesis
The interrogative clause Tí hode hestēkate holēn ten hēmeran argoi {Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί | Tí hôde hestḗkate hólēn tḕn hēméran argoí} begins with Tí functioning adverbially (“why”), followed immediately by the deictic adverb hode (“here”), giving the question a pointed, local focus: “Why here have you been standing…?” The verb hestēkate, a perfect indicative, conveys a state resulting from prior action, hence the rendering “have you been standing,” indicating prolonged inactivity. The phrase holēn ten hēmeran (“the whole day”) intensifies the duration, while the predicate adjective argoi placed at the end of the clause carries rhetorical weight, summarizing their condition as “idle.” English word order is slightly adjusted (“Why have you been standing here idle all the day?”) to maintain natural flow while preserving the emphasis on long-standing, culpable idleness.
Root and etymology
argosalpha–rho–gamma–omicron–sigma
“idle, inactive, not working”
In context — Matthew 20:6
But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he says to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all the day?”
About this coordinate
Matthew 20:6:18 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 18 of Matthew 20:6, so the Greek word ἀργοί; (argoi) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Matt.20.6.W18, which extends further down to each syllable (Matt.20.6.W18.S1) and character.