20:12a

The event in this verse is the third in a series of similar events. These three events lead to the climax in the next verse, when the owner will send his own son to the farmers/tenants. Consider how to translate this series of events in a way that is natural for leading to a climax in your language.

Then he sent a third: In Greek, this clause is literally “and he proceeded a third time to send ⌊someone⌋.” This clause indicates that the owner again sent another servant to bring his share of the harvest to him. He had already sent two of his servants. Some English versions use the English word “still” to emphasize this. For example:

He sent still a third (New International Version)

Some ways to translate the clause are:

Then a third time he sent a slave
-or-
He tried once more and sent a third (Revised English Bible)

20:12b

but they wounded him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wounded means “hurt badly” or “beat bloody.” It implies that this servant was injured more seriously than the others.

and threw him out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as threw him out indicates that the tenant farmers themselves used force to throw or drag the servant from the farm.

The Greek text does not say explicitly here that this servant went home empty-handed, but that is clearly implied. In some languages you may need to make it explicit. For example:

⌊without any share of the harvest⌋

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