Section 20:9–19

Jesus told a parable about some evil tenant farmers

In 20:1–8 the Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus two questions about his authority. In this section Jesus used a parable to answer those questions in an indirect way. The Jewish leaders showed that they understood this parable by their response in 20:19.

The parable was a story about a man who owned a vineyard. A vineyard is a farm where people grow vines that produce a fruit called “grapes.” Many Jewish people had grape farms. They used the grape juice to make wine, which was important in their culture. They also sold the grapes to make money.

In this story, the owner of the grape farm hired men to farm it for him and to give him a share of the profit. Three times the owner sent servants to the men to collect his share. But the men refused to give the owner his share, and they mistreated each of his servants who came to collect it. When he sent his own son, they killed him. Consider how you would tell a similar story in your language.

Jesus used the people in the parable to represent the Jewish religious leaders and their actions toward God and toward himself, God’s Son. The grape farm represents the people of Israel, and the owner represents God. The grape farmers represent the leaders of Israel. The servants represent the prophets, and the owner’s son represents Jesus.

Examples of headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Tenants (New International Version)
-or-
A story of evil farmers
-or-
A parable about bad renters of a vineyard

Parallel passages for this section are in Matthew 21:33–46 and Mark 12:1–12.

Paragraph 20:9–12

20:9a

Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He proceeded to tell is literally “he began to tell.” The Revised Standard Version and several other English versions translate it that way. The clause indicates that he had been talking to the leaders, and now he began to speak to all the people. The leaders were included in this larger group.

this parable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this parable refers to the story that begins in 20:9b.

For help in translating the word parable, see the note on 18:1. See also parable, Type 3, in the Glossary.

20:9b

A man planted a vineyard: This clause introduces the story and the most important person in the story. Introduce the story and the main character in a way that is natural in your language. Other ways to introduce it are:

There was once a man who planted a vineyard (Good News Translation)
-or-
There was a certain man. One day, he planted a vineyard

planted a vineyard: The phrase planted a vineyard indicates that the man planted grape vines in a field. In the story the man had servants, so he probably did not plant these vines himself. He probably ordered his servants to do the work. In some languages it may be necessary to make this clear. For example:

⌊caused/ordered⌋ a vineyard ⌊to be⌋ planted.

a vineyard: A vineyard is a farm where grape vines grow and produce grapes. Grapes are small, sweet fruit that are commonly grown in Israel. People use them to make wine. Some ways to translate vineyard are:

grape farm/garden
-or-
field of grape vines

In some languages there may not be a common word for vineyard or for “grapes.” See the note on 6:44c. If this is true in your language, here are two other options to consider:

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

farm for producing a fruit called grape

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

wine-fruit farm

You should not substitute the name of another kind of fruit for “grapes.” Grapes and wine are important images in the Bible. Israel has been compared to a vineyard, and Jesus told this parable about Israel’s leaders.

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.

Vineyards are also referred to in Isaiah 5:1–7, Genesis 9:20, Mark 12:1, and Matthew 20:1. Grapes are also referred to in Genesis 40:10–11, Isaiah 5:2, and Matthew 7:16.

20:9c

rented it out to some tenants: The owner rented or leased the grape farm to some men. This means that the owner let the men grow grapes for themselves on his land. But he required the men to give him part of the grapes as payment for using the land. Another way to translate this is:

He told them, “You will tend/farm the grapes, and you will get some ⌊of the grape harvest⌋. You must also give some ⌊of the grapes⌋ to me ⌊as payment⌋,” ⌊and they agreed⌋.

tenants: In this verse the term tenants refers to men who farm for the owners of the land. These men had the responsibility of picking the ripe fruit and selling it to benefit both themselves and the owner.

20:9d

went away for a long time: The verb went away indicates that the man traveled far from home. He also stayed away for a long time, probably at least several years.

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