The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’
Parallel translations
- KJV Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
- BSB ‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’
- NKJV “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’
- NASB Now the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
- NLT “‘What will I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The owner resolves to send his beloved son, hoping the tenants will respect him. God's final messenger is his own Son.
Overview
The "beloved son" clearly points to Jesus, echoing the Father's words at his baptism (3:22). The sending of the son marks God's climactic and costly appeal to his people. The verse reveals both the dignity of Christ and the depth of God's gracious initiative toward sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 3:17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- John 3:16–17For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
- Jer 36:3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them; that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
- Jer 36:7It may be they will present their supplication before Yahweh, and will each return from his evil way; for Yahweh has pronounced great anger and wrath against this people.”
- 1 Jn 4:9–15By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
- Luke 9:35A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”
- John 1:34I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
- Hos 6:4“Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.
- Hos 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
- Isa 5:4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?
- Rom 8:3For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh;
- Gal 4:4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
- Matt 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
- John 3:35–36The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 20:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.