20:15a

So: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So is often translated as “and.” Here it introduces what the tenants did as a result of their discussion. After they talked about the situation, they did what they had decided to do. Connect this verse to 20:14 in a way that is natural in your language.

they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him: The tenants threw the son out of the vineyard and then killed him there. They did not kill him in the vineyard and then throw his dead body out. Be sure that this is clear in your language.

they threw him out of the vineyard: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they threw him out was also used in 20:12. It indicates that the tenants forced the son out of the grape farm. They may have pushed or dragged him. They may even have carried him and thrown him down outside the grape farm.

and killed him: The tenants killed the son illegally. Another way to translate the clause is:

Then they murdered him.

20:15b

What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus asked it to make people think about what the owner should do. Although the people probably knew the answer to the question, Jesus answered it himself. He used the question to direct attention to the obvious conclusion of the parable. Some ways to translate this question are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

⌊Jesus then asked,⌋ “What ⌊do you think⌋ the owner of the vineyard will do?”

• As a request or command. For example:

Now tell me what the owner of the vineyard will do.

• As a statement. For example:

⌊Now then, here is⌋ what the owner of the vineyard will do.

Use a natural way in your language to help people think about the conclusion of this parable.

What then: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as What then introduces a rhetorical question. Jesus asked this question so that his readers would think about how his parable should end. Some English versions have a result connector like “so” here. Consider how to connect this question to the parable in a natural way in your language.

do to them: In this context do to them implies that the owner would punish them in some way. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit:

do to ⌊punish⌋ them.

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