Misthóō (μισθόω) means to hire, to employ for wages. In the middle voice it means to hire for one's own use. Related to misthos (wages, reward).
The word appears in Matthew 20:1 in the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. The landowner hires workers at different hours yet pays them all the same wage. The parable subverts all human calculations of merit: God's grace cannot be earned by length of service. Those hired at the eleventh hour — latecomers to faith — receive the same eternal life as those who labored longest. This is scandalous grace. The parable also challenges envy among God's people: 'Are you envious because I am generous?' (v.15).