Luke 20:10

When harvest time came, he sent a slave ¹  to the tenants so that they would give ²  him his portion of the crop. ³  However, the tenants beat his slave ⁴  and sent him away empty-handed.

Jud 6:8-10; 1Ki 22:24; 2Ki 17:13; 2Ch 16:10; 2Ch 24:19-21; 2Ch 36:15,16; Ne 9:26; Ne 9:30; Ps 1:3; Jer 2:30; Jer 5:24; Jer 20:2; Jer 25:3-7; Jer 26:2-6; Jer 26:20-24; Jer 29:26,27; Jer 35:15; Jer 37:15,16; Jer 38:4-6; Jer 44:4,5; Ho 6:4-6; Zec 1:3-6; Zec 7:9-13; Mt 21:34-36; Mr 12:2-5; Lu 11:47-50; Lu 13:34; Joh 15:16; Ro 7:4

¹ sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

² tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dwsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ Ë¹ Ï) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dwsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα ({ina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B ˹³ 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.

³ tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”

⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.