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Luke 20:9-19
Lexham English Bible
Luke 20:9-19
Lexham English Bible
The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard
9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[a] planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after[b] beating him.[c] 11 And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and[d] sent him[e] away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and[f] threw out this one also. 13 So the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when[g] the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason[h] with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and[i] killed him.[j] What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they[k] heard this,[l] they said, “May this never happen!” 17 But he looked intently at them and[m] said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
this has become the cornerstone.’[n]
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!” 19 And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay their[o] hands on him at that same hour, and they were afraid of the people, for they knew that he had told this parable with reference to them.
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- Luke 20:9 Some manuscripts have “A certain man”
- Luke 20:10 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“beating”) which is understood as temporal
- Luke 20:10 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Luke 20:11 Here “and” is supplied because the two previous participles (“beat” and “dishonored”) have been translated as finite verbs
- Luke 20:11 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Luke 20:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“wounded”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Luke 20:14 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Luke 20:14 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to reason”)
- Luke 20:15 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Luke 20:15 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Luke 20:16 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Luke 20:16 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Luke 20:17 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“looked intently at”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Luke 20:17 Literally “the head of the corner”
- Luke 20:19 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
Luke 20:9-19
New International Version
Luke 20:9-19
New International Version
The Parable of the Tenants(A)
9 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!”
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”(G)
19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him(H) immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.(I)
Footnotes
- Luke 20:17 Psalm 118:22
Luke 20:9-19
New Living Translation
Luke 20:9-19
New Living Translation
Parable of the Evil Farmers
9 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 11 So the owner sent another servant, but they also insulted him, beat him up, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 A third man was sent, and they wounded him and chased him away.
13 “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’
14 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 15 So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him.
“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. 16 “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.”
“How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested.
17 Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’[a]
18 Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”
19 The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.
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Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.