“But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’
Parallel translations
- WEB “But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
- KJV But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
- BSB But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
- NKJV But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
- NASB But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’
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 tenants plot to kill the heir so the inheritance will be theirs. The parable foretells the leaders' murder of Jesus.
Overview
The tenants' scheming exposes the rebellious desire to seize what belongs to God by removing his Son. Their reasoning thinly veils the conspiracy of Israel's leaders to put Jesus to death. The verse lays bare the sinful heart that rejects God's rightful claim and rejects his Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rom 8:17and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.
- Heb 1:2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
- Acts 3:15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
- Luke 19:47He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
- Ps 2:1–6Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Matt 16:7They reasoned among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”
- Luke 20:5They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’
- Ps 89:27I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
- Ps 2:8Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
- Matt 2:2–16“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
- John 11:47–50The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.
- Matt 27:21–25But the governor answered them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!”
- Acts 2:23him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
- Matt 21:25The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
- Luke 22:2The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people.
- Gen 37:18–20They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
- Luke 20:19The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people — for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
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 20:14 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.