11:33a

So they answered: The word So in the Berean Standard Bible introduces the results of the discussion that the Jewish leaders had. They decided to tell Jesus that they did not know the answer to his question. Introduce this part of the verse in a natural way in your language. The New Living Translation says:

So they finally replied

We do not know: There is some implied information here. The implied information is “where John’s authority to baptize came from.” In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit. If so, refer to John’s baptism using the same phrase that you used in 11:30a. For example:

We do not know where John got his authority to baptize people.

11:33b

And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things”: Jesus’ response indicates that he was refusing to answer the question that the Jewish leaders had asked him in 11:28a. They had asked, “By what authority are you doing these things?” You should translate Jesus’ response here in 11:33b in a way that corresponds with the way you translated their question.

Neither: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Neither refers to the fact that Jesus refused to answer a question. The Jewish leaders had also refused to answer a question. Jesus had said in 11:29b that he would only answer their question if they answered his question. In some languages there is a special way to make this reference clear. For example:

Then I will not tell you…
-or-
So I, likewise, will not tell you…

authority: The word authority means “the right to do something.”

See how you translated this word in 1:22b and 11:28a.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The parable of the vineyard and its farmers
-or-
The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard (Good News Bible)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:33–46 and Luke 20:9–19.

Paragraph 12:1–8

12:1a

At the end of chapter 11, Jesus was talking with the Jewish religious leaders. 11:32 implies that other people also listened to what Jesus said to the leaders. In this verse he continued to talk to the Jewish religious leaders, and told them a parable.

Then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces what happened next in the narrative.

Here are some other ways to introduce this section:

After he said this
-or-
So

Jesus began to speak to them in parables: Jesus taught and answered questions by telling simple, meaningful stories. Here he indirectly answered the religious leaders’ questions by telling the parable recorded in verse 1b-9c.

In some languages a verb like began might imply that Jesus started to speak in parables but he did not finish. It might also imply that Jesus had not been speaking to them and that he now began to speak, using parables. If either of these wrong meanings would be implied in your language, you may want to translate only the main verb “spoke.” For example, the Good News Bible says:

Jesus spoke to them in parables

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Jesus began to use parables as he spoke to them.
-or-
Jesus said this, he told them a parable.
-or-
Jesus continued speaking to the Jewish leaders. He told them this parable.

The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in parables refers to the teachings of Jesus. The plural form, parables, probably indicates that during that time Jesus told more than one parable. See the similar passage in Matthew 21:23–22:14, which includes two other parables. In this chapter Mark included only one parable. It may be confusing to your readers to use the plural “parables” when there is only one parable here. If that is true, you may use the singular “parable.” For example:

Jesus told them a parable

Some languages may require a verb like “saying” or “he said” to introduce the parable. For example:

Jesus told them a parable, saying:

to them: The word them refers to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, who were mentioned in 11:27. In some languages, it may be more natural to refer to them specifically. For example:

to the religious leaders

parables: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as parables is literally “comparisons.” Parables teach a lesson or truth by showing how it is like something that people already know. In this section Jesus told a parable that was a symbolic story. You should read this story and use a natural term in your language to describe it.

See parable, Type 3, in the Glossary.

12:1b

A man planted a vineyard: Jesus introduced his story with the clause A man planted a vineyard. The man is a very important person in the story. The clause tells what the man did first. Introduce this story in a way that is natural in your language.

Here are some other ways to introduce this story:

Once there was a man who planted a vineyard (Good News Bible)
-or-
There was a certain man. One day, he planted a grape farm.

planted a vineyard: The man planted a grape farm. He was apparently a rich man with many servants, so he probably did not plant this farm himself. He ordered his servants to do the work. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear. For example:

his servants planted a grape farm

vineyard: A vineyard is a farm where grape vines grow and produce grapes. Grapes are a small sweet fruit that people commonly grew in ancient Israel. They used them to make wine.

Here are some other ways to translate vineyard:

grape farm
-or-
field of grape vines

In some languages there may not be a word for “vineyard” or for “grape.” If this is true in your language, here are two other options to consider:

• Borrow the word for “grape” from another language and add a general expression that describes what a grape farm is. For example:

farm for producing a fruit called grapes
-or-
farm for raising fruit from grape vines

• Use a general word for fruit that would fit in this context. For example:

farm to produce a fruit used to make wine

You may also want to add a footnote. For example:

The fruit called “grape” grows on a vine. The fruit is used for making wine.

Grapes and vineyards are spoken of literally and figuratively in many places in the Bible. You may want to look at these other contexts as you decide how to translate these words. Here are other passages that also refer to vineyards: Isaiah 5:1–7, Genesis 9:20, Matthew 20:1, and Luke 20:9. And here are some passages that refer to grapes: Genesis 40:10–11, Isaiah 5:2, and Matthew 7:16.

12:1c–f

This part of the verse describes how the man carefully prepared his grape farm. He did this so that it would produce a good profit for him.

12:1c

He put a wall around it: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as put…around indicates that the man made a barrier along the borders of his grape farm. Some languages may naturally express the phrase put a wall around with a verb. For example:

he enclosed it with a wall
-or-
he built a wall around it

Use an appropriate expression in your language.

wall: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wall refers to a barrier that encloses an open area. People built walls to keep thieves and wild animals out of a farm or garden. The Greek word could refer to almost any kind of barrier, including a fence, wall, or hedge. (According to Alexander (page 317), it was a thick hedge of thorn plants.) It could be made of stone, wood, thorn bushes, or anything else that would form an adequate barrier. In your translation you may want to use the kind of barrier that is common in your area.

12:1d

dug a wine vat: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as dug a wine vat is literally “dug a trough.” In this context, it is implied that the trough is part of a winepress. That is the reason most English versions use the word “winepress.” For example, the New International Version says:

dug a pit for the winepress

A wine vat, or winepress, consisted of two “pits” or “troughs” that people usually carved out of a large stone. They put the grapes in the larger trough and stepped on them to press out the juice. The juice then ran down into a smaller lower trough/pit or “vat,” where it was collected to be made into wine. (People normally carved a winepress out of a large rock, but sometimes they dug it out of the ground and lined it with bricks. The larger “pit” was probably shaped like a shallow basin (Lenski page 506). According to TRT (page 155), the small pit or vat for collecting the wine was probably 3–5 feet across (1–1.5 meters across) and 2–3 feet deep (0.6–1 meters deep).)

dug: The verb dug describes the way people made a hole in the stone for the winepress. In some languages a different verb may be more appropriate. For example:

hollowed out
-or-
carved
-or-
chipped

Use a natural verb in your language to describe this.

a wine vat: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wine vat probably refers specifically to the smaller hole/trough/vat in the rock in which the grape juice was collected. However, some scholars think that it stands for the whole winepress.

Your readers may not be familiar with the kind of winepress that was used by the Jews in the time of Jesus. If that is true, you may need to make explicit some of the details. Translations in English and other languages have done this in different ways. For example:

dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice (New Living Translation)
-or-
carved out a place in the rock for collecting the juice when the grapes were squeezed
-or-
made a hollow to catch the new grape water

Try to make explicit only enough details for your readers to understand the main idea of digging a winepress. You may want to include additional details in a footnote. Remember that your translation of this phrase needs to fit smoothly into the story as a whole.

12:1e

watchtower: A watchtower was a tall structure that farmers built so that they could watch the grape farm. The tower was often made of stones. On top of the tower, there was usually a small shelter. From there, a man could see the whole farm and guard it from thieves and wild animals.

Here are some other ways to translate watchtower:

a high platform for guards
-or-
a tall shelter where people could watch the garden

12:1f

Then he rented it out to some tenants: After the owner finished preparing the grape farm, he rented it to some men. This implies that these men would take care of the farm, pick its fruit, and sell it. They would keep some of the money and the owner would get the rest of the money. The owner did not give the grape farm to them or sell it to them. The farm still belonged to the owner. He allowed the farmers to use it to make money for themselves and for him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

Then he leased the land to some farmers (New Century Version)
-or-
Then he made an agreement with some men that they would care for the grape farm in exchange for a share of the harvest

tenants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tenants is more literally “farmers.” This refers to people who take care of gardens. The Berean Standard Bible refers to them as tenants because these farmers had agreed to rent the land from the landowner and give him some of the profits as payment. Here are some other ways you may wish to translate this noun:

vine dressers
-or-
land-workers

12:1g

and went away on a journey: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as went away on a journey indicates that the man traveled far from home and stayed away for some time. This may imply that he went to another country.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

went into another country (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
went abroad (New Jerusalem Bible)

If you wish to specify “another country” in your translation, you may do so. Otherwise, translate this phrase in a way that indicates that the man was gone for a long time. He did not go on just a short trip. For example:

traveled to a far place/town

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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