Limitless Word
So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
Luke 20:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
  • BSB So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
  • NKJV So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
  • NASB And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
  • NLT So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked.

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

They cast the son out of the vineyard and kill him; then Jesus asks what the owner will do. The parable predicts Christ's death and the coming judgment.

Overview

The casting out and killing of the son foreshadow Jesus's crucifixion outside Jerusalem. Jesus's closing question presses the hearers toward the inevitable verdict on such wickedness. The parable transparently announces both the cross and the reckoning that the leaders' rejection will bring.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Heb 13:12Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
  • Matt 21:37–40But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
  • Mark 12:6–9Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 20:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 20:15 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.