20:14a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a contrast with what the owner thought in 20:13c. The actual contrast occurs in 20:14d when the tenants decided to kill the son. So in some language it may not be natural to begin the verse with a conjunction like But. Here is another way to translate this:

When the renters saw the owner’s son (Contemporary English Version)

Connect the events in this section in a natural way in your language.

when the tenants saw the son: The phrase the son refers to the owner’s son. The clause implies that the owner did send his son, as he planned in 20:13b, and the son arrived. As the son was arriving at the vineyard, the tenant farmers saw him. In some languages it may be necessary to make the sequence of events more explicit. For example:

⌊So the owner sent his son to them.⌋ But when the tenants saw him ⌊coming⌋….

20:14b

they discussed it among themselves and said: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they discussed it among themselves and said is literally, “they were discussing/reasoning with each other saying.” It means that the tenant farmers considered the situation and discussed it among themselves. They talked about what they could gain if they killed the son. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

they discussed what they should do (Revised English Bible)
-or-
they said to each other (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
they reasoned with one another, saying (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
they planned

20:14c

This is the heir: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the heir refers to the one who would receive his father’s property when his father died. The clause This is the heir refers to the owner’s son. He was coming toward them. Another way to translate it is:

Here comes the owner’s son. He will own the vineyard when his father dies.

20:14d

Let us kill him: The clause Let us kill him is more literally, “We should/must kill him.” The tenants said this to encourage each other to kill the son. The phrase Let us is not a request for permission. Use a natural way in your language for people to encourage each other to do something.

and the inheritance will be ours: This phrase tells the reason why the tenants wanted to kill the owner’s son. They thought that if they killed him, they could own the grape farm. Some ways to translate this reason are:

Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours. (God’s Word)
-or-
If we kill him, it will be ours. (New Century Version)
-or-
Let’s kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves. (Contemporary English Version)

the inheritance: An inheritance is something that a person receives when its previous owner dies. Here it refers specifically to the grape farm. Some ways to translate it are:

• Refer in general to all the property that the son would inherit. For example:

his property (Good News Translation)
-or-
everything that he would have had (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
the estate (New Living Translation (2004))

• Refer specifically to the grape farm. For example:

the vineyard…it (New Century Version)

ours: The pronoun ours refers to the tenant farmers.

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