Luke 20:11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also,

Spoken to
audience

Jesus tells a parable of the vine-dresser to the crowd. 

KJV

Luke 20:11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

NIV

Luke 20:11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.

LISTENERS HEARD

And he agreed to send off another servant. However, those ones, beating and dishonoring that person there, they sent him out empty-handed.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

There word translated as "again" is a verb that means "agreed to" or something similar. "Again" is from the versions in other Gospels. This makes it sound that someone was advising him to mercy. 

The landowner and the vine-dressers both are translated to "send" the man, but two different Greek words are used. The landowner "sent off" and the vine-dressers "sent out." The final "sent out" is the root word for the word we use for the apostles. 

The punchline is again the last word. It is translated as "empty" and "empty handed" which works when referring to the sending him away, but here it modifies "beating." When referring to "beating" is means "to no purpose," as we would say, "for no reason." However, it is also a play on words because this word also means "fruitless" and "fruitlessly" a play on the "fruit" that he was sent to collect.

 

MY TAKE

People tend to do what they have been doing for good or evil. 

GREEK ORDER

 

καὶ   προσέθετο ἕτερον  πέμψαι       δοῦλον: οἱ                δὲ            κἀκεῖνον                 δείραντες καὶ ἀτιμάσαντες 
And he agreed   another to send off servant. those ones,  However,  that person there,  beating and dishonoring t

ἐξαπέστειλαν       κενόν.
they sent him out fruitless.

 

 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
9

 And again(CW, WF) he(WW) sent another servant: and(WW) they(CW) beat(WF) him(CW) also, and(IW) entreated(WF) him shamefully, and sent him away 

  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "again." This is not an adverb, but a verb. 
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an adverb, but a verb. 
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he" should be something more like "to."
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "beating."
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "and" should be something more like "but."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "they."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "him" is the common word that should be translated as "this one here" or "there."
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "treating."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
7
(MW) (MW) He(WW) sent another servant, but that one also they(CW) beat(WF) and(IW)  treated(WF) shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "and"  at the beginning of the sentence is not shown in the English translation. 
  •  MW - Missing Word -- The word "he agreed"  at the beginning of the sentence is not shown in the English translation. 
  • WW --Wrong Word -- The word translated as "he" should be something more like "to."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "they."
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "beating."
  • IW - Inserted Word-- The "and" doesn't exist in the source.
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "treating."
EACH WORD of KJV

And -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

again --  (CW, WF) The Greek word translated as "again" means "to apply," "to deliver," "to impose upon," and many other meanings. In this context, it works a lot like the English "to hand over."  In the Mark and Matthew version, the standard Greek word for "again" is used and the KJV wanted to keep using it. The sense of this verb seems to be "agreed." This is not the word usually translated as "again." 

he -- (WW)  This word is from the form of the word, but it shouldn't be "he" but "to" since the word is an infinitive not an active verb . 

sent --  "He sent" is from a Greek verb that means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort." The form is an infinitive, "to send" being introduced by the previous verb.

another -- The word translated as "another" means "one of two," "other," or "different." It is an adjective used as a noun.

servant-- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

and -- (WW) The Greek word translated as "and" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. This word doesn't mean "and."  

they -- (CW)The word translated as "they " is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.  This is not the word usually translated as "they." 

beat -- (WF) The Greek verb translated as "beat " means "to flay" or "to skin" someone, though in later use it came to mean "to cudgel" or "to thrash." Jesus seems to use it to mean being "flogged." It is an adjective here, "the ones...beating." This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "beating." 

him --- (CW) The word translated as "him" is an adjective that highlights its noun as being in a specific place or time from a word that means "there." So it means "there," "here," or "then." Used a pronoun, the sense is "that one there" or "this one here." " 

also -- The Greek word translated as "also" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). However, it only appears once, not twice.

and -- (IW) These is no "and" here. It is added because the previous participle was  changed from an adjective form to an active verb in translation. 

entreated -- (WF)"Entreated...shamefully" is an uncommon verb which means "to hold in no honor," "to esteem lightly," "to treat as unworthy," and "to bring dishonor upon."  It is in the form of an adjective as well, "dishonoring." This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "treating." 

shamefully- This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.

him -- There is no Greek pronoun here, but Greek does not need pronouns when the object can be assumed from the context. In English, they are added for the subject-verb-object form of our sentences.

and  -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). However, it only appears once, not twice.

sent -- "Sent...away" is an uncommon term for Jesus to use, seen only in this story, which means  to "dispatch", "send forth", "send away", and "dismiss." It is a form of the verb translated as "sent" earlier in this verse. This verb comes first in the sentence. He was sent away before he is beaten.

away - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.

empty -- "Empty" is another uncommon word only seen earlier in the parallel verse in Mark. It means "empty", "fruitless", "void", "ineffectual", "to no purpose", "destitute", "empty-handed", "devoid of wit", "vain," and "pretentious." Since it follows "beaten" the sense is "to no purpose". 

EACH WORD of NIV

missing "And"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). In a series, it is can be translated as "not only...but also." After words implying sameness "as."

missing "he agreed"  -- (MW) The untranslated word "agreed" means "to apply," "to deliver," "to impose upon," and many other meanings. In this context, the sense of this verb seems to be "agreed.

he -- This word is from the form of the word, but it shouldn't be "he" but "to" since the word is an infinitive not an active verb . The "he" worked with the "agreed" above, but it isn't translated here. 

sent --  "He sent" is from a Greek verb that means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort." The form is an infinitive, "to send" being introduced by the previous verb.

another -- The word translated as "another" means "one of two," "other," or "different." It is an adjective used as a noun.

servant-- The noun translated as "servant" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

but -- The Greek word translated as "and" means "but," "however," and "on the other hand." Since it always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better. 

that one  -- The word translated as "that one" is an adjective that highlights its noun as being in a specific place or time from a word that means "there." So it means "there," "here," or "then." Used a pronoun, the sense is "that one there" or "this one here."  

also -- The Greek word translated as "also" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). However, it only appears once, not twice.

they -- (CW)The word translated as "they " is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.  This is not the word usually translated as "they." 

beat -- (WF) The Greek verb translated as "beat " means "to flay" or "to skin" someone, though in later use it came to mean "to cudgel" or "to thrash." Jesus seems to use it to mean being "flogged." It is an adjective here, "the ones...beating." This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "beating." 

and -- (IW) These is no "and" here. It is added because the previous participle was  changed from an adjective form to an active verb in translation. 

treated -- (WF)"Entreated...shamefully" is an uncommon verb which means "to hold in no honor," "to esteem lightly," "to treat as unworthy," and "to bring dishonor upon."  It is in the form of an adjective as well, "dishonoring." This is not an active verb but a participle, a verbal adjective, "treating." 

shamefully- This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.

and  -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also"). However, it only appears once, not twice.

sent -- "Sent...away" is an uncommon term for Jesus to use, seen only in this story, which means  to "dispatch", "send forth", "send away", and "dismiss." It is a form of the verb translated as "sent" earlier in this verse. This verb comes first in the sentence. He was sent away before he is beaten.

away - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.

empty-handed -- "Empty-handed"  is another uncommon word only seen earlier in the parallel verse in Mark. It means "empty", "fruitless", "void", "ineffectual", "to no purpose", "destitute", "empty-handed", "devoid of wit", "vain," and "pretentious." Since it follows "beaten" the sense is "to no purpose". 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."

προσέθετο ( verb 3rd sg aor ind mid ) "Again" is from prostithemi, which is formed from two root words that mean "to put towards" and means to "put to," "to hold close," "to apply medicine [to a wound]," "to hand over," "to give something more," "to impose upon," "to attribute to," "to add," "to agree," "to associate with," "to bring upon oneself," and "to apply to oneself."

ἕτερον ( adj sg masc acc ) "Another" is heteros, which means "one or the other of two," "the second," "the secondary," "the minor," "other things [of like kind]," "another," "different," "other than," "different from," "other than should be," and "in another or a different way." As an adverb, it means "in one or the other way," "differently," "otherwise than should be," "badly," and "wrongly."

πέμψαι ( verb aor inf act ) "He sent" is pempo, which means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort." -- "He sent" is from a Greek verb that means "send," "send forth," "send away," "conduct," and "escort."

δοῦλον: (noun sg masc acc) "The servant" is doulos, which means a "slave," a "born bondsman," or "one made a slave." -

οἱ (article pl masc nom) "They" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

δὲ (conj/adv) "And" is de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be an explanation of cause ("so"). --

κἀκεῖνον ( adj sg masc acc ) "Him" is ekeinos, which means "the person there," "that person," "that thing," "in that case," "in that way," "at that place," and "in that manner." --

δείραντες ( part pl aor act masc nom ) "Beat" is from dero, which means "to flay" or "to skin" someone, though in later use it came to mean "to cudgel" or "to thrash."

καὶ  (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just." --

ἀτιμάσαντες [2 verses]( part pl aor act masc nom ) "Entreated ...shamefully" is from atimazo, which means "to hold in no honor," "to esteem lightly," "to treat as unworthy," and "to bring dishonor upon."

ἐξαπέστειλαν [3 verses]( verb 3rd pl aor ind act ) "Sent...away" is exapostellō, which means  to "dispatch", "send forth", "send away", and "dismiss." --  The "he sent" here is a word that means "to send off" and "dispatch." It root is the source of our word "apostle."

κενόν  [3 verses]( adj sg masc acc ) "Empty" is from kenos, which means "empty", "fruitless", "void", "ineffectual", "to no purpose", "destitute", "empty-handed", "devoid of wit", "vain," and "pretentious." -- "Empty" is an adjective that means "empty", "fruitless", "void", "ineffectual", "to no purpose", "destitute", "empty-handed", "devoid of wit", "vain," and "pretentious."

parallel comparison

  In the Mark and Matthew version, the standard Greek word for "again" is used and the KJV wanted to keep using it here. The other two versions of this verse in Matthew and Mark are very different that this one. 

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