The Fallible Study Bible

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Luke13:6–9

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Luke 13:6–9 — The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

6

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Elegen tautēn tēn parabolēn tis eichen Sykēn pephyteumenēn en autou tō ampelōni kai ēlthen zētōn karpon en autē kai ouch heuren

Word by word22 · parsed
δὲdeThenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἜλεγενElegen[Jesus] toldG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
epō/legō: to say (imperfect) Imperfect: the parable is part of an ongoing address, tied to the double “unless you repent” of 13:3 and 13:5.
ταύτηνtautēnthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Feminine Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
παραβολήνparabolēnparableG3850
√ παραβολή — a similitude ("parable"), iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
parabolē: a similitude, a thing set alongside A comparison laid beside reality; Ellicott and Cambridge both warn that the colouring details (years, digging, dung) should not each be pressed for a separate meaning.
τιςtisA [man]G5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Masculine Singular
tis: a certain one Indefinite; the owner is left unnamed. Ellicott, following Isaiah 5:7, identifies him with the Lord of Hosts; Gill prefers Christ; Benson allows both.
εἶχένeichenhadG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ΣυκῆνSykēna fig treeG4808
√ συκῆ — a fig-treeNounAccusative Feminine Singular
sykē: fig tree (in 15 vv) Not the vine, the usual figure for Israel (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:2), but a fig tree set within the vineyard. Cambridge reads it as the Jewish nation (Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 24:3); Ellicott argues it must then be something narrower, the individual soul within the covenant order. The same noun returns in the withering of the fig tree (Matthew 21:19 to 21), the acted counterpart of this spoken parable.
πεφυτευμένηνpephyteumenēnthat was plantedG5452
√ φυτεύω — to set out in the earth, iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Feminine Singular
phyteuō: to plant (perfect passive) The tree did not grow wild; it was put there by the owner's act and stands in that position still. Privilege precedes expectation: compare Isaiah 5:2, where the vineyard is planted with choice vines before grapes are sought.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελῶνιampelōnivineyardG290
√ ἀμπελών — a vineyardNounDative Masculine Singular
ampelōn: vineyard Scripture's standing image of Israel under the Lord's care (Isaiah 5:1 to 7, cited by Benson, JFB, Ellicott and Gill). Cambridge and Pulpit note fig trees were commonly set in vineyard corners.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἦλθενēlthenHe wentG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
erchomai: to come (aorist) Benson stresses that the owner did not send but came himself, a detail he reads of God coming in the person of his Son.
ζητῶνzētōnto look forG2212
√ ζητέω — to seek (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
zēteō: to seek The seeking is the owner's, not the tree's. In Luke the same verb describes the Son of Man who came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10); the God of this parable is a seeking God before he is a cutting God.
καρπὸνkarponfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
karpos: fruit The word John the Baptist used for repentance made visible (Luke 3:8, “fruit worthy of repentance”); JFB glosses it “a heart turned to God; the fruits of righteousness.” In this context fruit is the repentance that 13:3 and 13:5 demand.
ἐνenonG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
αὐτῇautēitG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkai[but]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὐχouchvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
εὗρενheurendid not find [any]G2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
heuriskō: to find (aorist) The verse closes on failure: seeking met with nothing.
7

So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de eipen pros ton ampelourgon Idou aph’ hou tria etē erchomai zētōn karpon en tautē tē sykē kai ouch heuriskō oun ekkopson autēn hina ti kai katargei tēn gēn

Word by word29 · parsed
δὲdeSoG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipenhe saidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ἀμπελουργόνampelourgonkeeper of the vineyardG289
√ ἀμπελουργός — a vine-worker, iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ampelourgos: vine-worker As far as this tool can tell, a New Testament hapax. Cambridge and Ellicott see Christ in this figure, Benson allows either Christ or his ministers, and Gill prefers the ministers; Cambridge records others who see the Holy Spirit as Intercessor. The parable itself names only a worker who intercedes.
ἸδοὺIdouLookG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
idou: behold Calls the vine-dresser to witness the evidence before the sentence.
ἀφ’aph’forG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
οὗhouthe pastG3739
√ ὅς — the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what, thatPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
τρίαtriathreeG5140
√ τρεῖς — "three"AdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
treis: three Contested detail. Readings recorded in the brief: Christ's ministry (named and doubted by Barnes, JFB and Pulpit); Judges, Kings, High Priests (Cambridge, Pulpit, both doubtful); Law, prophets, Christ (Pulpit); fig-tree husbandry (Grotius via Benson and Poole, Gill citing Jewish sources); a symbol of completeness (Ellicott, Pulpit). The sober conclusion, shared by Barnes and JFB, is “a sufficient period” of trial.
ἔτηetēyearsG2094
√ ἔτος — a yearNounAccusative Neuter Plural
ἔρχομαιerchomaiI have comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive1st Person Singular
erchomai: present, continuing The owner's visits are repeated and ongoing; patience has already been shown before any intercession is made.
ζητῶνzētōnto search forG2212
√ ζητέω — to seek (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
καρπὸνkarponfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἐνenonG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ταύτῃtautēthisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
συκῇsykēfig treeG4808
√ συκῆ — a fig-treeNounDative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
οὐχouchvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
εὑρίσκωheuriskōhaven’t found [any]G2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
heuriskō: present Shifts from v. 6's aorist to the present: “I am still finding nothing,” a settled pattern rather than one bad season.
οὖνounThereforeG3767
√ οὖν — (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordinglyConjunction
ἔκκοψονekkopsoncut it downG1581
√ ἐκκόπτω — to exscindVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ekkoptō: to cut out (in 10 vv) A relatively rare verb. In Luke 3:9 and Matthew 3:10 it is the Baptist's warning that every tree not bearing good fruit is cut down; Matthew 7:19 repeats it from Jesus' lips. Paul uses it in Romans 11:22 and 24 for branches cut off from the olive tree. The aorist imperative is decisive: a single act of removal.
αὐτήνautēn. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
ἵνα‿hinaWhyG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
hina ti: why, for what purpose Literally “in order that what?”: a question about purpose, implying the tree has none.
τίti. . .G5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
καταργεῖkatargeishould it use upG2673
√ καταργέω — to be (render) entirely idle (useless), literally or figurativelyVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
katargeō: to render idle, nullify Built on argos (idle, workless). This appears to be its only Gospel occurrence; elsewhere it is almost wholly Pauline, as in Romans 3:31 (“do we nullify the law?”), 1 Corinthians 13:8 (where Ellicott notes it is rendered “fail”) and, in Hebrews 2:14, of Christ rendering powerless the one who has the power of death. Here the barren tree does to the soil what sin does to the law's purpose: it makes it inoperative. Gill: unfruitful trees “draw away nourishment from other trees.”
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
γῆνgēnsoilG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounAccusative Feminine Singular
gē: ground, soil The ground is the owner's resource, given to bear fruit; occupying it fruitlessly is itself a wrong.
8

‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kyrie de Ho apokritheis legei autō aphes autēn kai touto to etos heōs hotou skapsō peri autēn kai balō kopria

Word by word20 · parsed
ΚύριεKyrieSirG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
kyrios: lord, master, sir In the parable, simply the servant addressing the owner. On the readings that make the owner the Father and the vine-dresser the Son (Ellicott, Cambridge, Benson as one option), it becomes the Son's address to the Father in intercession.
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὉHoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἀποκριθεὶςapokritheisG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrinomai: to answer The vine-dresser answers the sentence; he does not dispute its justice, only its timing.
λέγειlegei[the man] repliedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἄφεςaphesleave it aloneG863
√ ἀφίημι — an intensive form of , to go)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
aphiēmi: to send away, let go, forgive Aorist imperative: a single grant of respite. The verb's range runs from “leave” to “forgive”; Luke 23:34 puts the same imperative form, aphes, on Jesus' lips at the cross. Benson stresses the limit of the plea: not that the tree never be cut, but “that it might not be cut down immediately.”
αὐτὴνautēn. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiagainG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
kai: also “This year also”: one more, on top of the three.
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἔτοςetosyearG2094
√ ἔτος — a yearNounAccusative Neuter Singular
etos: year A bounded reprieve. Cambridge sees in it the forty years between the crucifixion and the fall of Jerusalem; Pulpit includes John's preaching, Christ's ministry and the apostolic witness; Poole takes “one year” loosely as “some little time more.” The parable itself fixes only that the grace has an edge.
ἕωςheōsuntilG2193
√ ἕως — a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place)Preposition
ὅτουhotouvvvG3755
√ ὅτου — during which same time, iPersonal / Relative PronounGenitive Masculine Singular
σκάψωskapsōI digG4626
√ σκάπτω — to digVerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
skaptō: to dig (in 3 vv) Rare in the New Testament: also in Luke 6:48 (the wise builder who “dug deep”) and Luke 16:3 (the steward who cannot dig). All three are Lukan. The vine-dresser takes the labor on himself; JFB reads it as “changes of method in the divine treatment of the impenitent.”
περὶperiaroundG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
αὐτὴνautēnitG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
βάλωbalōvvvG906
√ βάλλω — to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active1st Person Singular
ballō: to throw, put Ordinary verb, made vivid by its object.
κόπριαkopriafertilize [it]G2874
√ κοπρία — perhaps akin to G2875 (κόπτω))NounAccusative Neuter Plural
kopria: dung, manure (in 2 vv) Its only other New Testament occurrence is Luke 14:35, where salt that has lost its savor is fit “neither for the soil nor for the manure pile.” In both places Luke uses the dunghill to measure usefulness. Gill cites the Mishnah for the same pair of tasks, dunging and digging, as standard orchard work.
9

If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kan men poiēsē karpon eis to mellon de ei mē¦ge ekkopseis autēn

Word by word12 · parsed
κἂνkanIfG2579
√ κἄν — and (or even) ifConjunction
kan: and if Introduces the hoped-for case first; Cambridge: “If, as is at least possible, it bears fruit.”
μὲνmenG3303
√ μέν — properly, indicative of affirmation or concession (in fact)Conjunction
men: indeed Pairs with the following de to balance two outcomes.
ποιήσῃpoiēsēit bearsG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
poieō: to make, do “Make fruit,” the Baptist's idiom (Luke 3:8 to 9, poiēsate karpous). Fruit is something the tree does, the visible outworking of repentance.
καρπὸνkarponfruitG2590
√ καρπός — fruit (as plucked), literally or figurativelyNounAccusative Masculine Singular
εἰςeisvvvG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸto[next year]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
μέλλονmellonfineG3195
√ μέλλω — to intend, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Neuter Singular
mellō: to be about to Participle used as a noun: “the coming time.” The future is genuinely open in the vine-dresser's words.
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
εἰeiifG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
μή¦γεmē¦genotG1490
√ εἰ δὲ μή(γε) — but if notAdverb
ei de mē ge: but if not An emphatic “but if not, at any rate”; the condition that the hearers of 13:3 and 13:5 must not let stand.
ἐκκόψειςekkopseisyou can cut it downG1581
√ ἐκκόπτω — to exscindVerbFuture Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ekkoptō: future The imperative of v. 7 (ekkopson) returns as a future: deferred, not cancelled. JFB: the final perdition of the fruitless after such forbearance “will be pre-eminently and confessedly just.” Luke ends the parable here, without telling us what the tree did; the hearers' response supplies the ending.
αὐτήνautēn. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The planted tree and the seeking owner — 13:6

The parable is introduced with an imperfect, Ἔλεγεν, “he was saying,” which keeps it inside the warning of 13:1 to 5: the Galileans and the eighteen at Siloam were not worse sinners, “but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Ellicott sees the Baptist's axe-saying “expanded into a parable.” A fig tree stands planted (πεφυτευμένην, perfect passive) in a vineyard, the place Isaiah 5 had made Israel's emblem. Cambridge reads the tree as the nation (Hosea 9:10); Ellicott argues that since the vineyard already is Israel, the tree must be the individual soul placed within that order. Benson notices that the owner “did not send, but came himself.” He came seeking (ζητῶν) fruit and found nothing.

ii. Three years and a verdict — 13:7

“Three years” has drawn many readings: Christ's ministry, the three epochs of Israel's government, Law, prophets and Christ. Barnes, JFB and Pulpit agree that the number marks a sufficient trial, not a coded chronology, and Gill and Grotius (via Benson and Poole) ground it in fig-tree husbandry. The sentence is short and decisive: ἔκκοψον, aorist imperative, “cut it out,” at once as Cambridge says. The reason sharpens it: καταργεῖ, it renders the ground idle. Ellicott, Cambridge, Barnes and the Geneva margin all hear active harm in the verb, not mere uselessness. Poole: barren souls “are not only useless, but also spoil others.”

iii. The vine-dresser's plea — 13:8

The worker does not dispute the verdict. He asks for time: ἄφες, “let it be,” a verb that elsewhere in Luke means “forgive.” He binds the reprieve to his own labor: digging, a rare verb shared only with Luke 6:48 and 16:3, and throwing dung (κόπρια), a word Ellicott calls homely and that recurs only in Luke 14:35. Benson, JFB, Ellicott and Cambridge see Christ the Intercessor here; Gill prefers the ministers of the word; Benson allows both. Benson marks the plea's limits: not that the tree be spared forever, only “not be cut down immediately.” Cambridge reads the extra year as the forty years before Jerusalem fell; Pulpit hears “scarcely a ray of hope.”

iv. The unfinished sentence — 13:9

“If it bears fruit for the coming time . . .” and the Greek stops. Cambridge names the figure, an aposiopesis; Ellicott notes the ellipsis needs “well” supplied in English. The alternative is fully spoken: ἐκκόψεις, “you will cut it out,” future indicative, with the cutting returned to the owner. Barnes reads in this the acquiescence of all in the justice of the judgment; JFB both that late repentance avails and that final judgment after forbearance is “confessedly just”; Henry that God bears long but not always. Luke never says whether the tree bore fruit. The ending belongs to the hearers.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read in its Lukan setting, the parable answers the question 13:1 to 5 leaves hanging: if those who perished were not worse sinners, why are the rest of us still standing? The answer is not our merit but the owner's patience and an intercessor's plea. Three features held together keep the reading honest. First, God seeks fruit, and he is entitled to it, because he planted the tree (the perfect participle). Second, the reprieve is real and is bound to more care, not less: digging and dung, the means of grace pressed closer. Third, the reprieve is bounded; the imperative ekkopson returns as the future ekkopseis, deferred but not withdrawn. The text leaves its own good outcome unspoken, and so it does not let any reader presume on it. This tool takes the primary reference as Israel in the time of Jesus' visitation (Luke 19:41 to 44), with legitimate application to every hearer placed within the means of grace, as Henry, Poole and Benson all say. That reading is offered to be tested against Scripture, not received on this tool's word.

Spared is not the same as safe: the year of grace is a gift with an edge.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The axe at the root: the Baptist's warning becomes a parable verbal / quotation: confirmed

John's preaching in Luke 3:9 (and Matthew 3:10) already joined fruit and cutting: “every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Luke 13:7 and 9 use the same rare verb ἐκκόπτω with the same object, a fruitless tree, and Luke 13:9's poiēsē karpon echoes the Baptist's “make fruit” idiom. Ellicott explicitly calls the parable the Baptist's warning “expanded into a parable.” Matthew 7:19 puts the same saying on Jesus' lips. The difference is the interval: in John the axe is already laid; here an intercessor wins a year.

Luke 3:9 · Matthew 3:10 · Matthew 7:19

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1581 ἐκκόπτω (in 10 vv, rare) and G2590 καρπός (in 56 vv) in the same tree-and-fruit image; a verbal echo within Luke and the Synoptic tradition, not a formal quotation

The dung heap as the measure of usefulness verbal / quotation: confirmed

The noun κοπρία appears in only two New Testament verses: here, where the vine-dresser throws dung around the tree, and Luke 14:35, where tasteless salt is fit “neither for the soil nor for the manure pile.” Both sayings close a warning about uselessness, and both use the same word γῆ (soil). In 13:8 the dung is a last means of fruitfulness; in 14:35 even the dung heap refuses the useless thing.

Luke 14:35

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2874 κοπρία (in 2 vv, very rare), G1093 γῆ (in 223 vv) and G906 βάλλω (in 107 vv); a real Lukan verbal link, not a quotation

Kindness and severity: the branches cut out structural / thematic: confirmed

Paul uses ἐκκόπτω in Romans 11:22 and 24 for branches cut off from the cultivated olive tree, joined to the call, “Behold (idou) the kindness and severity of God.” Cambridge draws the link directly: the cutting down “was fulfilled in the rejection of Israel (Romans 11:22).” The two passages share the pairing of long forbearance and real removal, and Romans adds what the parable leaves open: the cut-off may be grafted in again (11:23). The imagery differs (olive, not fig), so the link is thematic, carried by one rare verb.

Romans 11:22 · Romans 11:24

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G1581 ἐκκόπτω (in 10 vv) plus G2400 ἰδού; same motif of God's patience and the removal of the fruitless, cited by Cambridge; different plant and no quotation, so tiered thematic

The fig tree withered: the parable acted out structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge pairs this parable with “the acted parable of the Barren Fig-tree (Matthew 21:19).” Matthew 21:18 to 21 (and Mark 11:12 to 14, 20 to 21) shows Jesus coming to a fig tree, finding nothing but leaves, and pronouncing its end. Luke does not record that incident; his spoken parable carries the same lesson with a year of grace added. The shared noun συκῆ is moderately common, so the link rests on the shared scene: an owner coming for fruit, finding none, and judgment following.

Matthew 21:19 · Matthew 21:21 · Mark 11:13

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexeme G4808 συκῆ (in 15 vv) with Matthew 21:21; shared narrative pattern (seeking fruit, finding none, judgment), noted by Cambridge; not a verbal dependence

The Song of the Vineyard: the owner who looked for fruit structural / thematic: confirmed

Isaiah 5:1 to 7 is the frame nearly every voice in the brief invokes (Ellicott, Benson, JFB, Gill, Cambridge): the beloved plants a vineyard with care and “looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes,” then sentences it to be laid waste; verse 7 names the vineyard as the house of Israel. Luke 13 reuses the plot (planting, seeking fruit, disappointment, verdict) but inserts an intercessor between verdict and execution. Because this is Greek against Hebrew, no shared Strong's lexeme can be counted.

Isaiah 5:2 · Isaiah 5:7

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew): no shared Strong's number possible; shared plot pattern of planted vineyard, sought fruit and judgment, cited by Ellicott, Benson, JFB, Gill and Cambridge; not a quotation

Israel as first-ripe figs structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge cites Hosea 9:10 (“Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers”) and Jeremiah 24 (the good and bad figs) as places where Israel is figured as fig or fruit. These show the fig image was available for Israel in the prophets, which supports Cambridge's national reading of the tree. Ellicott's reading of the tree as the individual soul is a counterweight this tool records without resolving.

Hosea 9:10 · Jeremiah 24:3

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew): no shared Strong's number possible; shared image of Israel as fig or figs, cited by Cambridge; thematic only

The longsuffering that leads to repentance structural / thematic: confirmed

Cambridge glosses “this year also” with 2 Peter 3:9: the Lord “is longsuffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Ellicott says the parable teaches that “the forbearance and long-suffering of God are leading them to repentance,” language close to Romans 2:4. The parable dramatizes the theology these epistles state: delay is not indifference but mercy aimed at repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 · Romans 2:4

basis: Shared theme of divine forbearance aimed at repentance, cited by Cambridge (2 Peter 3:9) and echoed by Ellicott; no Verifier lexical basis recorded and no quotation claimed

“Three years” as the length of Jesus' ministry flagged: verify source

A popular reading takes the owner's three years of seeking as the duration of Jesus' public ministry, often reckoned from the Passovers in John's Gospel. The brief records this view and its rejection: Barnes says the words “are not to be referred to the time which Christ had been preaching,” JFB calls the allusion “precarious,” and Benson, Pulpit and Cambridge treat it as doubtful. Poole alone accepts the three years strictly. The chronology of the ministry is itself debated, so this tool flags the link rather than endorse it.

John 2:13 · John 6:4 · John 11:55

basis: Contested: the ministry-length reading is rejected or doubted by Barnes, JFB, Benson, Pulpit and Cambridge in the brief, accepted only by Poole; no lexical basis; the Johannine Passover count is itself debated

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The vine-dresser who pleads for the barren ancient/widely-held

⚙ The parable's turn comes from the worker who stands between the owner's verdict and the axe, asks for time, and pledges his own labor. Ellicott identifies the dresser as “the Lord Jesus Himself, who intercedes.” JFB: “Christ, as Intercessor, loath to see it cut down.” Benson: “Thus Christ the great Intercessor interceded for the Jewish Church and people.” Cambridge: “Christ corresponds to the vine-dresser.” Gill and Benson also allow the ministers of the word. Luke shows the same intercession at the cross with the same imperative form, ἄφες: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34 state the standing reality: he always lives to intercede. This is a widely-held reading, though the parable never names the vine-dresser.

Luke 23:34 · Hebrews 7:25 · Romans 8:34

The owner comes seeking: the visitation of Israel ancient/widely-held

⚙ Benson reads the owner's coming as God coming “in the person of his Son, to his vineyard, the Jewish Church,” and Pulpit calls the parable a scarcely veiled warning to Israel as a nation. Luke frames Jesus' mission with the same verb: the Son of Man came “to seek (zētēsai) and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and he weeps over Jerusalem because it “did not recognize the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:44). Cambridge and Pulpit read the extra year as the season of apostolic witness before AD 70. On this reading the parable is Christ's own announcement that the season of seeking had come and was running out.

Luke 19:10 · Luke 19:41-44 · Isaiah 5:7

The cut-off one who spares the tree novel

⚙ A further reading, offered tentatively: in the parable the tree is spared because the vine-dresser takes the labor on himself. In the larger Gospel, the tree is spared because the Intercessor himself is cut off. Isaiah 53:8 says the Servant was “cut off from the land of the living” for the transgression of his people, and Luke 23:31 has Jesus speak of what is done “to the green tree” as against “the dry.” No commentator in the brief draws this line, the Hebrew verb in Isaiah is not the Greek ekkoptō, and the Luke 23:31 tree saying uses a different word. This tool offers it as a canonical resonance to be tested, not as the parable's meaning.

Isaiah 53:8 · Luke 23:31

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. In v. 9 the position of eis to mellon varies: the interlinear (with the better manuscripts, per Ellicott) puts it after karpon (“if it bears fruit for the coming time”), while the text behind the KJV attaches it to the cutting (“then after that”). Either way the conditional is an aposiopesis (Cambridge); “well” and BSB's “fine” are supplied in English. In v. 7 Gill records a variant reading “there are three years since I came” in the Vulgate, Persic and Beza's ancient copy.

Sources. Henry's entry is one comment on 13:6 to 9, repeated across the verses; Barnes's single note likewise appears under 13:7 to 9; Poole's single note sits under 13:6. Gill's rabbinic citations (Mishnah, Shemot Rabba, Maimonides) are post-New Testament compilations; they illustrate custom and parable form, not sources for Luke.

Uncertain. Who the owner and vine-dresser represent (the Father and Christ, Christ and his ministers, or the Holy Spirit as Intercessor, per Cambridge's report) is a matter of interpretation; the parable names neither. The meaning of “three years” is contested and flagged. The claims that ampelourgos is a New Testament hapax and that katargeō appears only here in the Gospels are this tool's statements from general lexical knowledge, not Verifier counts, and should be checked. Thread frequencies (“in N vv”) are the Verifier's.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)