LUKE 20:17 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 20:9–19: Jesus told a parable about some evil tenant farmers

In 20:1–8 the Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus two questions about his authority. In this section Jesus used a parable to answer those questions in an indirect way. The Jewish leaders showed that they understood this parable by their response in 20:19.

The parable was a story about a man who owned a vineyard. A vineyard is a farm where people grow vines that produce a fruit called “grapes.” Many Jewish people had grape farms. They used the grape juice to make wine, which was important in their culture. They also sold the grapes to make money.

In this story, the owner of the grape farm hired men to farm it for him and to give him a share of the profit. Three times the owner sent servants to the men to collect his share. But the men refused to give the owner his share, and they mistreated each of his servants who came to collect it. When he sent his own son, they killed him. Consider how you would tell a similar story in your language.

Jesus used the people in the parable to represent the Jewish religious leaders and their actions toward God and toward himself, God’s Son. The grape farm represents the people of Israel, and the owner represents God. The grape farmers represent the leaders of Israel. The servants represent the prophets, and the owner’s son represents Jesus.

Examples of headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Tenants (NIV)

A story of evil farmers

A parable about bad renters of a vineyard

Parallel passages for this section are in Matthew 21:33–46 and Mark 12:1–12.

20:17a

But Jesus looked directly at them and said,

Then Jesus looked straight at them and asked this question:
But Jesus looked directly at the people and said,

But: In Greek, this verse begins with the common conjunction that the BSB translates as But. It introduces Jesus’ response to what the people said in 20:16. Other English versions translate this word as “Then.” Versions such as the NIV do not translate this conjunction. Begin 20:17a in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus looked directly at them: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as Jesus looked directly at them indicates that Jesus looked intently at the people. He did this to emphasize what he was about to say. He wanted them to think seriously about it. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

Jesus looked steadily at them

Jesus looked straight at them (NET)

Some languages have an idiom to express this. For example:

Jesus looked them in the eye

In some languages the meaning of this action may not be clear. The action may imply that Jesus was angry or disrespectful, or that Jesus was not looking at the people before that. If the action implies a wrong meaning like these in your language, you may use a different expression that emphasizes what Jesus was about to say. For example:

Jesus spoke very seriously/directly to them.

You may also need to include a footnote in your translation to give the literal words and explain the meaning. For example:

Literally “having looked directly at them.” Jesus looked seriously at them to emphasize what he was about to say.

and said: The Greek verb that the BSB literally translates as said introduces a rhetorical question. Use a verb that is natural here in your language.

20:17b

“Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“Then how do you^(plur) understand what is written in the Scriptures, where it says,
“If you^(plur) reject this, then how do you explain what God caused to be written in the Holy Book? It says,
“Then think^(plur) about what this scripture could mean:

Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then introduces Jesus’ response to what the people said in 20:16c. When they said, “May such a thing never happen!” they implied that they rejected the statement in 20:16a–b. That statement implied that the Jewish leaders would kill God’s Son and that God would punish them and give their role to others. The word Then implies here that if the people rejected that statement, their thoughts would not fit with what is written in the Scriptures.

In some languages it may be necessary to make the connection with 20:16c more explicit. For example:

If you say that this should never happen, then…

Do you reject/deny that this will happen? Then…

If it will not happen, what then…

what is the meaning of that which is written: This is a rhetorical question. It introduces a scripture that agrees with what Jesus said in 20:16a–b. Jesus wanted the people to think seriously about this scripture. He wanted them to realize that the scripture predicts what would happen to him, and those events must happen.

Some ways to translate the introduction to this quote are:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
What, then, does this scripture mean? (GNT)
Then what is the meaning of this scripture…? (JBP)
As a command. For example:
Then tell me what the Scripture means when it says:
Then listen to this scripture and think about what it means:
As a statement. For example:
That is the meaning of this statement that is written in God’s Word.
Yet that is the meaning of the figure-of-speech that is in the Holy Book that says:Uma back translation on TW.

Translate the introduction to the quote in a way that is natural in your language.

that which is written: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as that which is written refers to words that God directed someone to write. Such writings have authority because God guided a person to write them. Here the phrase refers specifically to the statement in Psalm 118:22. Other ways to translate the phrase that which is written are:

this statement from God’s written words

This word/message that God caused someone to write

See how you translated the similar phrase in 4:17.

In this context that which is written refers specifically to what is written as a metaphor about Jesus as the Messiah. In some languages it may be necessary to make this meaning more explicit. For example:

what is written about the Messiah

what is written as a proverb/symbol about Christ

20:17c–d

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone: In this context the stone is a metaphor that Jesus applied to himself as the Messiah.In Jesus’ lifetime Jewish leaders recognized certain OT Scriptures about a stone as referring to the Messiah. These Scriptures include Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, and Daniel 2:34. (See Jeremias, lithos TDNT IV, pp. 272–273.) In some languages it is more natural to use a simile. For example:

He is like a stone that builders rejected, but then that stone became the most important stone.

The Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus are like the builders who rejected the stone. Jesus would become like the most important stone in a building, because he is the Messiah, God’s Son.

You may want to include a footnote in your translation to help readers understand the meaning of the quotation in this verse. For example:

Jesus applied this verse to himself. The stone represents him. The builders represent the Jewish leaders. They rejected him, but God exalted him.

20:17c

‘The stone the builders rejected

‘The stone that the builders rejected as useless/worthless
‘God has approved the stone that the builders declared to be worthless for building his/the house.
‘The people who were building a/the house examined a certain stone and said, “This stone is not fit to be used for the building.”

The stone the builders rejected: The builders in this clause were using stones to build a house. They rejected one of the stones as useless. They thought that it was not the type of stone that they wanted to use in building the house.

In Greek the word stone begins the clause because it is the topic of the statement. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of words in the clause. For example:

The builders declared a certain stone to be uselessIn BDAG one definition of apodokimazō (translated as “rejected”) is “to declare useless” (p. 110).

The stone: The Jews used stones to build most of their houses. It was a common building material. In some languages it may be helpful to indicate more explicitly here that the builders were using stones to build with. For example:

As the people were building a house of stones, they rejected a certain stone.

In some areas people do not use stones to build houses. If that is true in your area, you may need to include a footnote about this. For example:

People in Jesus’ country usually used stones to build houses.

It is usually best not to substitute a different building material, because stone is used as a metaphor in other places in the New Testament.See, for example, Acts 4:11, Romans 9:32–33, 1 Peter 2:4–8, and Ephesians 2:20.

builders: The word builders refers in general to people who construct a building. In some languages it is necessary to translate this word as a verb and supply a subject and object. For example:

the people who were constructing the building/house

The scripture implies that the builders were working on a building that belongs to God. In some languages it may be helpful to make that explicit. For example:

The people who were building God’s house

rejected: The Greek word that the BSB translates as rejected means “to examine (something), decide that it is useless, and then reject it.” The builders looked at the stone and decided that it was not useful. They did not want to use it in the building. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

The stone which the builders rejected as worthless (GNT)

A certain stone was examined by the builders, and they decided that it was useless

In some languages it may be natural to express this either as direct speech or indirect speech. For example:

The builders said, “This stone is worthless.”

The builders said/declared that the stone was worthless.

20:17d

has become the cornerstone’?

has become the corner stone of the building’?
He has caused it to become the cornerstone.’
But God made that stone the most important stone in the house.’

has become the cornerstone: The Greek text does not say how the rejected stone became the most important stone in the building. If you must supply this information in your language, you should supply God as the cause.Here are examples from back translations on TW: Kankanaey: “The stone that the builders rejected, that’s what God has turned-into the most-valuable stone which causes-the-house-to-be-strong/firm.” Tagbanwa: “That rock/stone which was not acceptable to the house builders, that’s what was used after all as the main-support of the house.” Yakan: “The stone that is rejected by the experts building the stone house because they thought-mistakenly that it didn’t have any use, now that one is the stone of the greatest/utmost use.” For example:

God has used the stone which the builders rejected as the cornerstone of the house.

God has taken the stone which the builders rejected and made it the most important stone of the house

the cornerstone: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the cornerstone literally means “head of the corner.” There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

It refers to a stone in the corner of the foundation. Here is another way to translate this:
the cornerstone (NLT) (BSB, NLT, KJV, NASB, RSV, REB, NET, GW, NCV, ESV, JBP, NJB)
It refers to a capstone, a stone in the center of an arched door. Another way to translate this is:
the capstone (NIV) (NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). However, both interpretations indicate that the stone was very important in the building. In some languages it is good to translate in a general way that makes this meaning clear. For example:

The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-symaction

ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν

he (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν τί Οὖν ἐστίν τό γεγραμμένον τοῦτο Λίθον ὅν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλήν γωνίας)

Jesus looked at the people to hold them accountable for understanding what he was saying. Alternate translation: [But Jesus looked straight at them and said]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο, λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν τί Οὖν ἐστίν τό γεγραμμένον τοῦτο Λίθον ὅν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλήν γωνίας)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [What then does Scripture mean when it says that a stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο, λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας?

Jesus does not expect the people to explain the meaning of the scripture he is quoting. Rather, he is using the question form to get them to consider its implications carefully. Alternate translation: [Think carefully about what this scripture is saying: ‘A stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner’!]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν τί Οὖν ἐστίν τό γεγραμμένον τοῦτο Λίθον ὅν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλήν γωνίας)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this passive verbal form with a noun. Alternate translation: [this scripture]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

This is a quotation from Psalm 118, and it is a metaphor. It refers to the Messiah as if he were a stone that builders chose not to use. This means that people will reject him. When the psalm says that this stone became the cornerstone, this means that God will nevertheless make the Messiah the ruler of these people. However, since this is a quotation from Scripture, translate the words directly rather than providing a plain explanation of them, even if your language does not customarily use such figures of speech. If you want to explain the meaning of the metaphor, we recommend that you do that in a footnote rather than in the Bible text.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες

The psalm refers implicitly to the way people in this culture used stones to build the walls of houses and other buildings. Alternate translation: [A stone that the builders thought was not good enough to use for building]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

κεφαλὴν γωνίας

The phrase the head of the corner is an idiom that refers to a large stone with straight edges that builders would place down first and use as a reference to make sure that the walls of a stone building were straight and that the building was oriented in the right direction. Your language may have its own term for such a stone. You could also use a general expression. Alternate translation: [the cornerstone] or [the reference stone for the whole building]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear LUKE 20:17