The Parable of the Tenants(A)

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard,(B) rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.(C) 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;(D) perhaps they will respect him.’

14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants(E) and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

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The Parable of the Tenants

Then[a] he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[b] planted a vineyard,[c] leased it to tenant farmers,[d] and went on a journey for a long time. 10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave[e] to the tenants so that they would give[f] him his portion of the crop.[g] However, the tenants beat his slave[h] and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So[i] he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed.[j] 12 So[k] he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 13 Then[l] the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son;[m] perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So[n] they threw him out of the vineyard and killed[o] him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy[p] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”[q] When the people[r] heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”[s]

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:9 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The parable Jesus tells here actually addresses the question put to him by the leaders.
  2. Luke 20:9 tc ‡ There are several variants here, most of which involve variations in word order that do not affect translation. However, the presence or absence of τις (tis) after ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos), which would be translated “a certain man,” does affect translation. The witnesses that have τις include A W Θ ƒ13 1241 2542 al sy. Those that lack it include א B C D L Ψ ƒ1 33 M it. Externally, the evidence is significantly stronger for the omission. Internally, however, there is some pause. A feature unique to Luke-Acts in the NT is to use the construction ἄνθρωπος τις (cf. 10:30; 12:16; 14:2, 16; 15:11; 16:1; 19:12; Acts 9:33). However, scribes who were familiar with this idiom may have inserted it here. In light of the overwhelming external support for the omission of τις, the shorter reading is preferred. NA28 places τις in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
  3. Luke 20:9 sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.
  4. Luke 20:9 sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.
  5. Luke 20:10 sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
  6. Luke 20:10 tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dōsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ ƒ1 M) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dōsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα (hina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B ƒ13 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.
  7. Luke 20:10 tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”
  8. Luke 20:10 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
  9. Luke 20:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.
  10. Luke 20:11 sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit—and thus neither was the nation of Israel.
  11. Luke 20:12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first two slaves.
  12. Luke 20:13 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  13. Luke 20:13 tn Grk “my beloved son.” See comment at Luke 3:22. sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.
  14. Luke 20:15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.
  15. Luke 20:15 sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.
  16. Luke 20:16 sn The statement that the owner will come and destroy those tenants is a promise of judgment; see Luke 13:34-35; 19:41-44.
  17. Luke 20:16 sn The warning that the owner would give the vineyard to others suggests that the care of the promise and the nation’s hope would be passed to others. This eventually looks to Gentile inclusion; see Eph 2:11-22.
  18. Luke 20:16 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Luke 20:16 sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.