Luke 20:16
New International Version
He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

New Living Translation
“I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested.

English Standard Version
He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”

Berean Standard Bible
He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

Berean Literal Bible
He will come and will destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." And having heard it, they said, "Never may it be!"

King James Bible
He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

New King James Version
He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

New American Standard Bible
He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “May it never happen!”

NASB 1995
“He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

NASB 1977
“He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

Legacy Standard Bible
He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “May it never be!”

Amplified Bible
He will come and put these tenants to death and will give the vineyard to others.” When the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders heard this, they said, “May it never be!”

Christian Standard Bible
He will come and kill those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” But when they heard this they said, “That must never happen! ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” But when they heard this they said, “No—never!”

American Standard Version
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

Contemporary English Version
I'll tell you what. He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard." When the people heard this, they said, "This must never happen!"

English Revised Version
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He will destroy these workers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That's unthinkable!"

Good News Translation
"He will come and kill those men, and turn the vineyard over to other tenants." When the people heard this, they said, "Surely not!"

International Standard Version
He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others." Those who heard him said, "That must never happen!"

Majority Standard Bible
He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.? And when the people heard this, they said, ?May such a thing never happen!?

NET Bible
He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never happen!"

New Heart English Bible
He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard it, they said, "May it never be."

Webster's Bible Translation
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, may that never be.

Weymouth New Testament
He will come and put these vine-dressers to death, and give the vineyard to others." "God forbid!" exclaimed the hearers.

World English Bible
He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard that, they said, “May that never be!”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He will come, and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” And having heard, they said, “Let it not be!”

Berean Literal Bible
He will come and will destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." And having heard it, they said, "Never may it be!"

Young's Literal Translation
He will come, and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.' And having heard, they said, 'Let it not be!'

Smith's Literal Translation
He shall come and destroy these farmers, and give the vineyard to others. And having heard, they said, It may not be.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He will come, and will destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. Which they hearing, said to him: God forbid.

Catholic Public Domain Version
“He will come and destroy those settlers, and he will give the vineyard to others.” And upon hearing this, they said to him, “Let it not be.”

New American Bible
He will come and put those tenant farmers to death and turn over the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they exclaimed, “Let it not be so!”

New Revised Standard Version
He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He will come and destroy those laborers, and give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, This will never happen.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“He shall come and destroy those workers, and he shall give the vineyard to others”; but when they heard, they said, “May this not be!”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
He will come and destroy these vine-dressers, and will give his vine yard to others.And when they heard it, they said: Be it not so!

Godbey New Testament
He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And hearing, they said, Let it not be so.

Haweis New Testament
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said God forbid.

Mace New Testament
he will come and destroy these husbandmen, and give his vineyard to others, but they, taking the hint, cried out, God forbid.

Weymouth New Testament
He will come and put these vine-dressers to death, and give the vineyard to others." "God forbid!" exclaimed the hearers.

Worrell New Testament
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others." And, having heard it, they said, "May it not be!"

Worsley New Testament
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And when they heard this they said, God forbid.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, May such a thing never happen!” 17But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?…

Cross References
Matthew 21:41
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

Mark 12:9
What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Isaiah 5:1-7
I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. / He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour! / “And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard. ...

Psalm 118:22-23
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. / This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Matthew 21:42-44
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? / Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. / He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Acts 4:11
This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

Romans 9:30-33
What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; / but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. / Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ...

1 Peter 2:7-8
To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” / and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

Matthew 8:11-12
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. / But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Romans 11:17-21
Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, / do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. / You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ...

Hosea 9:17
My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Jeremiah 12:7-13
I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies. / My inheritance has become to Me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against Me; therefore I hate her. / Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her. ...

Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.


Treasury of Scripture

He shall come and destroy these farmers, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

destroy.

Luke 19:27
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Psalm 2:8,9
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession…

Psalm 21:8-10
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee…

shall give.

Nehemiah 9:36,37
Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: …

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Luke 20
1. Jesus confirms his authority by a question of John's baptism.
9. The parable of the vineyard.
19. Of giving tribute to Caesar.
27. He instructs the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection.
41. How Jesus is the Son of David.
45. He warns his disciples to beware of the scribes.














He will come and kill those tenants
In this phrase, Jesus is concluding the parable of the wicked tenants. The "He" refers to the owner of the vineyard, symbolizing God. The Greek word for "come" is "ἔρχομαι" (erchomai), which implies an arrival with purpose and authority. This coming is not just a physical arrival but a decisive intervention in the affairs of the tenants, representing God's judgment. The "kill" (Greek: "ἀποκτείνω" - apokteino) is a strong term indicating the severity of the judgment. It reflects the ultimate consequence of persistent rebellion against God. The "tenants" are the religious leaders of Israel, who have rejected the prophets and, ultimately, Jesus Himself. Historically, this reflects the judgment that would come upon Israel for their rejection of the Messiah, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

and will give the vineyard to others
The "vineyard" symbolizes the Kingdom of God, a common metaphor in Jewish literature for God's people and His blessings. The Greek word "ἀμπελῶνα" (ampelona) is used here, emphasizing the care and cultivation God has invested in His people. The "others" refers to the Gentiles and those who would accept Christ, indicating the opening of God's Kingdom to all nations. This was a radical shift in the understanding of God's covenant, moving from an exclusive focus on Israel to an inclusive invitation to all who believe in Jesus. This transfer of stewardship is a fulfillment of God's promise to bless all nations through Abraham's seed (Genesis 12:3).

When the people heard this, they said, 'May such a thing never happen!'
The reaction of the people, "May such a thing never happen!" (Greek: "Μὴ γένοιτο" - Me genoito), is a strong expression of denial or horror. It reflects their shock and disbelief at the idea of God's judgment and the inclusion of the Gentiles. This phrase is an emotional response, showing their attachment to the status quo and their misunderstanding of God's broader plan of salvation. Historically, this reaction mirrors the resistance Jesus faced from the Jewish leaders and people who could not accept the radical nature of His message. It serves as a warning against complacency and the danger of rejecting God's unfolding plan.

(16) He shall come and destroy these husbandmen.--St. Luke agrees with St. Mark in putting these words into our Lord's lips, and not, as St. Matthew does, into those of the by-standers.

They said, God forbid.--No other English phrase could well be substituted for this, but it is worth remembering that the name of God does not appear in the original, and that the ejaculation is simply, as it were, a negative Amen, "So be it not." Its insertion hero is peculiar to St. Luke, nor does it occur elsewhere in the Gospels. St. Paul uses it frequently, as in Romans 3:4; Romans 3:6; Romans 3:31; Romans 6:2; Romans 6:15, et al. . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
He will come
ἐλεύσεται (eleusetai)
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2064: To come, go.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

kill
ἀπολέσει (apolesei)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 622: From apo and the base of olethros; to destroy fully, literally or figuratively.

those
τούτους (toutous)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

tenants,
γεωργοὺς (geōrgous)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1092: From ge and the base of ergon; a land-worker, i.e. Farmer.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

will give
δώσει (dōsei)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1325: To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

the
τὸν (ton)
Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

vineyard
ἀμπελῶνα (ampelōna)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 290: A vineyard. From ampelos; a vineyard.

to others.”
ἄλλοις (allois)
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 243: Other, another (of more than two), different. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Different.

And
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

[when the people] heard [this],
Ἀκούσαντες (Akousantes)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 191: To hear, listen, comprehend by hearing; pass: is heard, reported. A primary verb; to hear.

they said,
εἶπαν (eipan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

“May such a thing never happen!”
γένοιτο (genoito)
Verb - Aorist Optative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1096: A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.


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