heir

In Highland Puebla Nahuatl there is no immediate equivalent for the Greek that is translated with the English term “heir.” So here an expression is used that means “someone who will receive the property (or: things).” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 200f.) Likewise, in Chimborazo Highland Quichua the translation is “those who receive what belongs to their father” (source: Julia Woodward in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 140ff. ) and in Sayula Popoluca “will receive all that God has for us” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

tenants (of a vineyard) / winegrower

The Greek that is translated as “tenants (of a vineyard)” or similar in English is translated in the Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) as Winzer and in Luxembourghish as Wënzer, both “winemaker (vintner).” The area were Pfälzisch and Luxembourghish are spoken are traditional wine making areas and this is the commonly used term.

The same term is also used in John 15:1 for (English) “winegrower.” (Source: Zetzsche)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Matt. 21:38 / Mark 12:7 / Luke 20:14)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including vine-growers to each other).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Luke 20:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:14:

  • Noongar: “But when the people saw the son, they said, ‘This one’s the boss’s son! We will kill him, and his land will become our land!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘But actually, when those people who took-care-of the field/garden saw the child of the field/garden owner, he made-a-plan, they said: ‘There comes his child! He is the one who will become the owner of this field/garden. Let’s kill him so that we become the owners of this garden.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But when the caretakers of the vineyard saw the son, they discussed/planned, they said, ‘This one is hep the heir. Come on, let’s kill him so that this vineyard will be ours.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, when these people taking care of the field saw the son of the owner, they talked together, saying, ‘Now, this is his son. Come on and let’s kill him and we will be the ones to inherit the field!’ And they grabbed him and took him outside the field and they killed him.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘But when those joint-farmers saw him, they said, ‘This is the inheritance owner of this farm. Let’s kill him to take-over his inheritance!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Whereas when those ones he’d left in charge saw that his son was who had arrived, they said, ‘Expl., there now is that heir! We’d better kill him, so that this ubas plantation which he would inherit can then be ours.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 20:14

Exegesis:

hoi geōrgoi dielogizonto pros allēlous ‘the tenants discussed among themselves.’ The imperfect is durative and implies that it took some time before they came to the decision expressed in what follows.

houtos estin ho klēronomos ‘this is the heir.’ klēronomos.

hina hēmōn genētai hē klēronomia ‘in order that the inheritance be ours,’ i.e. ‘may come to us.’ hēmōn is possessive genitive and goes with the predicate. genētai is ingressive aorist.

Translation:

Said to themselves, or, ‘to one another,’ see on 4.36.

For this is the heir and that the inheritance may be ours see ‘he (it is who) will own the garden later’ and ‘that his garden be our (inclus.) share’ (Tae’ 1933), ‘he will receive the property of his father’ and ‘that the property come in our hands’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘to him his father will leave the property’ and ‘that we may possess what-is-his (Toraja-Sa’dan), or, the property/vineyard.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 20:14

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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