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He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’”

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The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

And he told this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.[a] So he said to the gardener, ‘Behold, for three years[b] I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and did not find any.[c] Cut it down![d] Why should it even exhaust the soil?’ But he answered and[e] said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put manure on it.[f] And if indeed it produces fruit in the coming year, so much the better,[g] but if not, you can cut it down.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 13:6 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. Luke 13:7 Literally “three years from which”
  3. Luke 13:7 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Luke 13:7 Some manuscripts have “Therefore cut it down!”
  5. Luke 13:8 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  6. Luke 13:8 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Luke 13:9 *The phrase “so much the better” is not in the Greek text but is implied