The Meaning of Luke 20:16 Explained

Luke 20:16

KJV: He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

YLT: He will come, and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.' And having heard, they said, 'Let it not be!'

Darby: He will come and destroy those husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it they said, May it never be!

ASV: He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall come  and  destroy  these  husbandmen,  and  shall give  the vineyard  to others.  And  when they heard  [it], they said,  God forbid. 

What does Luke 20:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Only Luke recorded the verbal response of the people to the vineyard owner"s action: "may it never be" (Gr. me genoito, cf. Romans 3:4; Romans 3:6; Romans 3:31, et al.). This was a strong statement expressing firm rejection. They understood that Jesus was predicting that God would condemn Israel"s leaders and turn the nation over to other people, probably Gentiles and specifically the Romans. They foresaw the end of Judaism as they knew it, and this prospect upset them.

Context Summary

Luke 20:9-18 - "the Stone Which The Builders Rejected"
The vineyard represents the privileges and blessings of the Hebrew race. The servants are evidently the prophets and others sent from God. Whatever our position in life, God expects a revenue from it. We are not owners, but tenants; not proprietors, but stewards. Are you sure that you are giving God the dues which He may justly claim?
Notice how our Lord severs Himself from all human messengers, as the Son. When He said my beloved Son, He anticipated John 3:16. The warm kiss of the father's love was on His cheek. He realized that He was the heir, Hebrews 1:2; Romans 8:17.
It is said that in the building of Solomon's Temple, a valuable carved stone was cast aside and neglected, till a part of the structure absolutely called for it. You may build society as you like, but there will come a time when Christ will be needed to give the finishing touch. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 20

1  Jesus confirms his authority by a question of John's baptism
9  The parable of the vineyard
19  Of giving tribute to Caesar
27  He instructs the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection
41  How Jesus is the Son of David
45  He warns his disciples to beware of the scribes

Greek Commentary for Luke 20:16

God forbid [μη γενοιτο]
Optative of wish about the future with μη — mē Literally, may it not happen. No word “God” in the Greek. This was the pious protest of the defeated members of the Sanhedrin who began to see the turn of the parable against themselves. [source]
Destroy []
See on Matthew 21:41. [source]
God forbid [μὴ γένοιτο]
Lit.,may it not be. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 20:16

1 Corinthians 6:15 Shall I then take away? [αρας ουν]
First aorist active participle of αιρω — airō old verb to snatch, carry off like Latin rapio (our rape). Make (ποιησω — poiēsō). Can be either future active indicative or first aorist active subjunctive (deliberative). Either makes good sense. The horror of deliberately taking “members of Christ” and making them “members of a harlot” in an actual union staggers Paul and should stagger us. God forbid Optative second aorist in a negative wish for the future. May it not happen! The word “God” is not here. The idiom is common in Epictetus though rare in the lxx. Paul has it thirteen times and Luke once (Luke 20:16). [source]
1 Corinthians 6:15 God forbid [μη γενοιτο]
Optative second aorist in a negative wish for the future. May it not happen! The word “God” is not here. The idiom is common in Epictetus though rare in the lxx. Paul has it thirteen times and Luke once (Luke 20:16). [source]
1 Corinthians 6:15 May it not happen! []
The word “God” is not here. The idiom is common in Epictetus though rare in the lxx. Paul has it thirteen times and Luke once (Luke 20:16). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 20:16 mean?

He will come and will destroy the farmers these will give the vineyard to others Having heard [it] then they said Never may it be
ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀπολέσει τοὺς γεωργοὺς τούτους δώσει τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἄλλοις Ἀκούσαντες δὲ εἶπαν Μὴ γένοιτο

ἐλεύσεται  He  will  come 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἀπολέσει  will  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
γεωργοὺς  farmers 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: γεωργός  
Sense: a husbandman, tiller of the soil, a vine dresser.
τούτους  these 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
δώσει  will  give 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: διδῶ 
Sense: to give.
ἀμπελῶνα  vineyard 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀμπελών  
Sense: a vineyard.
ἄλλοις  to  others 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄλλος  
Sense: another, other.
Ἀκούσαντες  Having  heard  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
εἶπαν  they  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Μὴ  Never 
Parse: Adverb
Root: μή 
Sense: no, not lest.
γένοιτο  may  it  be 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Optative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.