Luke 20:9

Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the gathered people immediately after declining to state the source of his authority in Luke 20:8. He shifts from his direct refusal to a narrative illustration about a landowner, his tenants, and a prolonged absence.

The words — Ἤρξατο (Ērxato) literally means "he began," signaling the formal commencement of the teaching. παραβολὴν (parabolēn) translates as "parable," designating the figurative nature of the account.

The thread — The vineyard metaphor originates in Isaiah 5:1, where a beloved cultivates a vineyard on a fertile hill. Jesus echoes this exact framework in Matthew 21:33 and Mark 12:1 to confront religious leaders with a familiar prophetic pattern.

Why it lands — The text records a landowner establishing a vineyard, leasing it to workers, and leaving for an extended duration. It requires readers to identify the parallel between the leased land and entrusted responsibility, forcing a clear stance on how to treat the owner's subsequent agents.

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

King James Version

Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

Cross-references

Matthew 21:33 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
Mark 12:1 Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a wine vat, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
Psalms 80:8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
Jeremiah 2:21 I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine?
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
Song of Solomon 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.
Matthew 25:14 For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.
Deuteronomy 1:15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.
Deuteronomy 16:18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.