Luke 20:13-19

20:13 Then ¹  the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; ²  perhaps they will respect him.’ 20:14 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!’ 20:15 So ³  they threw him out of the vineyard and killed ⁴  him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 20:16 He will come and destroy ⁵  those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” ⁶  When the people ⁷  heard this, they said, “May this never happen!” ⁸  20:17 But Jesus ⁹  looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? ¹⁰  20:18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, ¹¹  and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ¹²  20:19 Then ¹³  the experts in the law ¹⁴  and the chief priests wanted to arrest ¹⁵  him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But ¹⁶  they were afraid of the people.

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Grk “my beloved son.” See comment at Luke 3:22.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ decision to kill the son.

⁴ sn Throwing the heir out of the vineyard pictures Jesus’ death outside of Jerusalem.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the people addressed in v. 9) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ sn May this never happen! Jesus’ audience got the point and did not want to consider a story where the nation would suffer judgment.

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

¹¹ tn On this term, see BDAG 972 s.v. συνθλάω.

¹² tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ tn Or “The scribes” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

¹⁵ tn Grk “tried to lay hands on him.”

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.