Translation commentary on Luke 20:10

Exegesis:

kairō ‘at the proper time,’ cf. en kairō (12.42).

hina apo tou karpou tou ampelōnos dōsousin autō lit. ‘in order that they might give him from the fruit of the vineyard,’ final clause denoting the owner’s intention in sending the slave and virtually equivalent to his message to the tenants. apo tou karpou is equivalent to a partitive genitive; it is best rendered ‘a share of’ or ‘a part of.’ karpos is used in a more general meaning, ‘produce,’ ‘proceeds.’ autō is best understood as referring to the servant.

hoi de geōrgoi exapesteilan auton … kenon ‘but the tenants sent him away empty-handed,’ cf. on 1.53.

deirantes lit. ‘after beating (him) up,’ denoting an act which takes place before the sending away.

Translation:

When the time came, or more explicitly, ‘at the season of grapes’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia), ‘at the time for harvesting the grapes’ (cf. Balinese).

The construction sent a servant … that they should give has to be adjusted in some languages, so as to avoid the change of subject, e.g. ‘sent a servant … to ask-for/collect/receive’ (Tzeltal, Balinese, The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or to make explicit the implied message, e.g. ‘he ordered a servant to go … and to tell (them), “You must give…” .’

Some of the fruit of the vineyard, or, “his (i.e. the owner’s) share of the harvest” (Good News Translation), “his share of the produce (of the vineyard)” (New English Bible, The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘the produce (lit. the strength) of the vineyard a part’ (Batak Toba), ‘a part from what they had gained with the vineyard’ (Sranan Tongo, where a more literal rendering would suggest that the owner sent his servant for some grapes). Fruit.

Empty handed, see on “empty” in 1.53.

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 20:10

20:10a

At harvest time: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At harvest time means “at the right/proper time.” It refers here to harvest time as in the Berean Standard Bible. At that time, the grapes had ripened and were ready to be picked. It can take from four to five years for grape vines to mature and produce good grapes. Other ways to refer to this time here are:

At the right time (God’s Word)
-or-
When the time came to gather the grapes (Good News Translation)

20:10b–c

he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sent refers to sending someone to do a certain task or to give a message. Here the owner of the grape farm chose one of his servants to go to the tenants to get his share of the grapes. Some ways to translate this meaning are:

• As a statement that tells the owner’s purpose for sending the servant. For example:

he sent a slave to the tenants to receive from them his share of the harvest (Good News Translation)
-or-
he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard (English Standard Version)

• As a message that the owner’s servant would give to the tenants. For example:

he sent a servant to ask the renters for his share of the grapes (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
he sent a servant to tell the renters that they should give him his share of the grape harvest
-or-
he told one of his servants to go and say to the tenants, “Give me my share of the grapes.”

Notice that the final example uses both indirect and direct speech. Translate the meaning of 20:10b–c in a natural way in your language.

20:10b

servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servant means “slave,” as in the New Revised Standard Version. This word refers to someone who was owned by another person. He worked for his owner/master without receiving pay.

In some cultures, slaves may not be known. In other cultures, the word for slave may imply different customs than in biblical culture. If that is true in your language, some ways to translate this are:

worker/servant
-or-
owned person
-or-
person who serves someone

the tenants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tenants is the same word that was translated as “tenants” in 20:9c.

20:10c

to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard: The pronoun his refers to the owner of the vineyard. The clause does not imply that the owner wanted his servant to have a share of the grapes. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. Some ways to make it clear in English are:

to receive from them his share of the harvest (Good News Translation)
-or-
to collect his share of the crop (New Living Translation (2004))

The owner wanted the farmers/tenants to prepare his part of the harvest and entrust it to his servant. Then the servant would take it back to the owner. In some languages it may be helpful to describe this purpose in more detail. For example:

that they would send the slave ⌊back to the owner⌋ with some of the fruit from the vineyard
-or-
that they would give/entrust the owner’s share of the grapes to the servant who would then take it back to the owner

his share of the fruit of the vineyard: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as his share of the fruit of the vineyard means “some of the fruit that the vineyard had produced.” Here it refers to the owner’s share of the grape harvest. The owner probably expected to receive either grapes or wine made from the grapes. In 20:9c the owner had made an agreement with the grape farmers/tenants. They agreed that they could keep a certain amount of the fruit from the harvest and that he would get the rest.

20:10d

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But is often translated as “and.” It introduces the next event. The Berean Standard Bible has But to indicate that the tenant farmers did not do what the owner expected in 20:10b–c. Connect 20:10d to 20:10b–c in a natural way in your language.

In some languages it may be natural to say explicitly that the action in this verse happened after the servant arrived at the grape farm. For example:

But ⌊after the servant arrived⌋

the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed: The phrase indicates that the grape farmers/tenants showed that they rejected the owner’s request by beating his servant. In some languages it may be helpful to make it clear that they refused the owner’s request. For example:

But the tenants ⌊refused. They⌋ beat the servant, and sent him away without any grapes.

beat: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beat means to hit repeatedly and cause bruises.

20:10e

sent him away empty-handed: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sent him away empty-handed is literally “sent him out empty.” It indicates that the farmers/tenants sent the owner’s servant out of the garden/vineyard without giving him any grapes from the harvest. Other ways to translate 20:10d–e are:

But the tenants/farmers gave him no grapes, beat him up, and sent him out of the garden.
-or-
The tenants did not give him ⌊any⌋ grapes, ⌊rather⌋ they beat him and sent him ⌊back to his master⌋.

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