Luke 20:11

So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the chief priests, scribes, and elders who have confronted him in the temple regarding his authority. The narrative positions him recounting a landowner's second attempt to collect his harvest share after the first tenant rebellion.

The words — προσέθετο (prosetheto) literally means "he proceeded" or "he added," marking a deliberate continuation of the landowner's plan. ἕτερον (heteron) translates as "another," explicitly distinguishing this second agent from the first servant.

The thread — The sequence of sent messengers mirrors the pattern of prophetic rejection documented in Acts 7:52 and the leadership's historical complicity noted in Matthew 23:30. The agricultural framework directly invokes the vineyard metaphor used for Israel in Hosea 10:1.

Why it lands — The text records the tenants' escalation from beating to shameful treatment before any theological application. It requires the reader to acknowledge the landowner's repeated patience and the tenants' concrete refusal to yield the harvest.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

καὶkaiAnd προσέθετοprosethetohe proceeded ἕτερονheteronanother πέμψαιpempsaito send δοῦλον·doulona servant;οἱhoi<the>δὲdebut κἀκεῖνονkakeinonhim δείραντεςdeiranteshaving beaten καὶkaiand ἀτιμάσαντεςatimasanteshaving dishonored ἐξαπέστειλανexapesteilanthey sent away κενόν.kenonempty-handed.

King James Version

And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

Cross-references

Hosea 10:1 Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.
Matthew 23:30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
1 Thessalonians 2:2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
Hebrews 11:36 Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.