complete verse (Matthew 21:34)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 21:34:

  • Uma: “The time came to pick the grapes, he ordered several of his slaves to go ask for his portion.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When the time came for the grapes to have fruit, the owner of the garden sent his servants to go to the caretakers to ask for his share in the fruit of the grapes.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when it was harvest time, he sent some of his servants to get his share of the vineyard.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When the picking-season for grapes arrived, the farm owner sent slaves of his to go get his share.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When the time came for ubas-fruit to fall, that owner sent his slaves to get his share.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When the day came to pick the grapes, the field-owner sent workers to bring the grapes which were his share.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 21:34

The season of fruit obviously means “the time of harvest” (Luther 1984); Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “at the time of grape gathering,” while New English Bible has “vintage season” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible “vintage time”). Translators can also say “When it came time to harvest the grapes (or, fruit)” or “When the grapes (or, fruit) were ready for harvesting.”

Drew near (Good News Translation “came”) is the same verb used in 3.2, though here the aorist tense is substituted for the perfect tense of the previous passage. See comments there.

Servants (so most translations) is rendered “slaves” by Good News Translation, An American Translation, and New American Bible. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “messengers.”

Tenants was discussed in the previous verse. In those languages where the word was rendered by a short descriptive phrase, then here either “the people in charge of the vineyard” or “those people taking care of the vineyard” is good.

To get his fruit (Good News Translation “to receive his share of the harvest”) may refer to the totality of the harvest rather than to a portion of it, as Mark (12.2) and Luke (20.10) specifically indicate. However, it is quite possible, and indeed probable, that Matthew’s text may also be understood in this sense; for example, New English Bible (“the produce due to him”), New American Bible (“to obtain his share of the grapes”), An American Translation (“to receive his share”), and Phillips (“to receive his share of the crop”; Barclay “… his due share…”).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .