Call to Repentance and the Barren Fig Tree
Luke 13:1-9
Luke.13.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Παρησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- δε: CONJ
- τινες: PRON,nom,pl,m
- εν: PREP
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- καιρω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- απαγγελλοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- περι: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- Γαλιλαιων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- αιμα: NOUN,nom,sg,neut
- Πιλατος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εμιξεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- μετα: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- θυσιων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,m
Parallels
- Luke 23:1-25 (structural): Same evangelist recounts Pilate’s judicial role in condemning Jesus; provides a fuller presentation of Pilate as the Roman official responsible for violent executions.
- Matthew 27:24-26 (verbal): Pilate’s act of washing his hands and ordering Jesus’ crucifixion highlights Pilate’s responsibility for bloodshed, paralleling Luke’s report of Pilate’s massacre of Galileans.
- John 18:28–19:16 (thematic): Pilate’s interrogation and eventual handing over of Jesus echo the motif of Pilate as the Roman authority who orders deaths, thematically connected to the Galilean victims in Luke 13:1.
- 2 Kings 21:16 (verbal): The report that a ruler ‘filled Jerusalem with innocent blood’ (of Manasseh) uses similar language of bloodshed in the sacred precincts, paralleling Luke’s image of blood mingled with sacrifices.
- Ezekiel 22:2-4 (thematic): Ezekiel’s depiction of blood polluting the land and defiling altars (bringing divine judgment) resonates with Luke’s concern that violent bloodshed in connection with sacrifices marks a crisis requiring moral and religious reckoning.
Alternative generated candidates
- At that very time some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
- At that time some people told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luke.13.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- αποκριθεις: VERB,aor,pass,ptc,nom,sg,m
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Δοκειτε: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- Γαλιλαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ουτοι: PRO,nom,pl,m
- αμαρτωλοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- παρα: PREP
- παντας: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- Γαλιλαιους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- εγενοντο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- ταυτα: PRON,acc,pl,n
- πεπονθασιν: VERB,perf,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- John 9:1-3 (thematic): Disciples ask whether a man's suffering (blindness) was due to his or his parents' sin; Jesus rejects a simple retributive link between suffering and greater personal sin, paralleling Luke 13:2's rejection of the idea that the Galileans were worse sinners.
- Ezekiel 18:2-4, 20 (allusion): Ezekiel confronts the proverb that children suffer for their fathers' sins and insists on individual responsibility for sin—addressing the same assumption that suffering indicates exceptional guilt found in Luke 13:2.
- Job 1:1–22; 2:1–10 (thematic): Job presents a righteous man who suffers calamity not as punishment for hidden greater sin, raising the problem of innocent suffering that underlies Jesus' question about whether the Galileans were worse sinners.
- Isaiah 53:3-4 (allusion): The Suffering Servant endures pain and affliction despite innocence; this theme that suffering does not always mark greater sin echoes Jesus' denial that the victims were 'sinners above all.'
Alternative generated candidates
- He answered, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered such things?"
- And he answered them, "Do you suppose that those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered such things?"
Luke.13.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουχι: PART
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,2
- αλλ᾽εαν: CONJ
- μη: PART
- μετανοητε: VERB,aor,act,subj,2,pl
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- ομοιως: ADV
- απολεισθε: VERB,fut,pass,ind,2,pl
Parallels
- Luke 13:5 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same pericope: the warning is repeated almost word-for-word—'unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'
- Matthew 4:17 (thematic): Jesus' inaugural proclamation 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' links repentance as the central, urgent response Jesus demands, like the warning in Luke 13:3.
- Mark 1:15 (thematic): Jesus announces 'Repent and believe in the gospel,' pairing repentance with entrance into God's kingdom—echoes the warning that failure to repent leads to loss.
- Acts 2:38 (thematic): Peter's call 'Repent and be baptized...for the forgiveness of your sins' shows the soteriological function of repentance—repentance leads to salvation, its absence to judgment.
- Ezekiel 18:21 (allusion): The prophetic principle that a wicked person who turns from sin shall live (and that unrepentant wickedness leads to death) parallels Luke's connection between repentance and averting destruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
- I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke.13.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- εκεινοι: PRO,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δεκαοκτω: NUM,nom,pl,m
- εφ᾽ους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- επεσεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πυργος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- Σιλωαμ: PROPN,dat,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- απεκτεινεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- δοκειτε: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- οτι: CONJ
- αυτοι: PRON,nom,pl,3
- οφειλεται: VERB,pres,mid,ind,3,sg
- εγενοντο: VERB,aor,mid,ind,3,pl
- παρα: PREP
- παντας: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- ανθρωπους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- κατοικουντας: VERB,pres,act,part,acc,pl,m
- Ιερουσαλημ: NOUN,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Luke 13:1 (structural): Immediate context: Jesus begins by citing another recent tragedy (Galileans killed by Pilate) to challenge the idea that victims suffer because they were worse sinners.
- Luke 13:5 (verbal): Direct continuation of the same teaching—Jesus uses the tower incident to call for repentance rather than as evidence of greater guilt.
- John 9:1-3 (thematic): Disciples ask whether a man’s blindness was due to sin; Jesus rejects the simplistic retribution view and reframes suffering as occasion for God’s works to be revealed.
- Job 1:6-22 (thematic): Job experiences catastrophic loss not as direct evidence of personal sin; the narrative challenges the assumption that calamity equals divine punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you suppose they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?
- Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem?
Luke.13.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ουχι: PART
- λεγω: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- υμιν: PRON,dat,pl,2
- αλλ᾽εαν: CONJ,sub
- μη: PART
- μετανοητε: VERB,aor,act,sub,2,pl
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- ωσαυτως: ADV
- απολεισθε: VERB,fut,mid/pass,ind,2,pl
Parallels
- Luke 13:3 (verbal): Almost identical warning earlier in the chapter: 'Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'
- Matthew 4:17 (thematic): Jesus' inaugural proclamation: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' linking repentance to eschatological warning and salvation.
- Mark 1:15 (thematic): Summary of Jesus' message: 'Repent and believe the gospel,' emphasizing repentance as the proper response to his announcement.
- Acts 17:30 (thematic): Paul declares that God now commands all people everywhere to repent, echoing the universal call to repentance in Luke 13:5.
- 2 Peter 3:9 (thematic): Connects God's desire that none should perish with the call to repentance: God is patient so that all may come to repentance.
Alternative generated candidates
- No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
- I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke.13.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Ελεγεν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- ταυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- παραβολην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- Συκην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ειχεν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,sg
- τις: PRON,nom,sg,?
- πεφυτευμενην: PART,perf,pass,acc,sg,f
- εν: PREP
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- αμπελωνι: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- ζητων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- καρπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- αυτη: PRON,dat,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ουχ: PART,neg
- ευρεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Luke 13:7-9 (structural): Immediate continuation of the parable: the vinedresser pleads for more time and care for the barren fig tree rather than immediate removal.
- Mark 11:12-14 (verbal): A fig tree is found without fruit and Jesus curses it — closely related imagery and wording about seeking fruit on a fig tree and finding none.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): The 'Song of the Vineyard' where a vineyard owner expects fruit but finds none; parallels expectation of fruit, judgment, and divine disappointment.
- John 15:2-6 (thematic): Vine/branch imagery emphasizing fruitfulness and removal of unfruitful branches—similar theological theme of judgement for lack of fruit.
Alternative generated candidates
- He told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
- He told them this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
Luke.13.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- προς: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- αμπελουργον·Ιδου: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- τρια: NUM,acc,pl,n
- ετη: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- αφ᾽ου: PREP
- ερχομαι: VERB,pres,mid/dep,ind,1,sg
- ζητων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,sg,m
- καρπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- τη: ART,dat,sg,f
- συκη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- ταυτη: PRO,dat,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ουχ: PART,neg
- ευρισκω·εκκοψον: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,sg
- αυτην·ινατι: PRON,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- γην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- καταργει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Mark 11:12-14,20-21 (verbal): Direct Synoptic parallel: Jesus curses a barren fig tree; disciples later see it withered. Shares same fig‑tree imagery and outcome (judgment on fruitlessness).
- Matthew 21:18-22 (verbal): Synoptic parallel to Mark/Luke: Jesus finds a fig tree without fruit, curses it, and the tree withers — links fruitlessness with divine judgment and the power of faith/prayer.
- Luke 3:9 (verbal): John the Baptist’s warning using tree/axe imagery: unfruitful trees are cut down and thrown into the fire. The same judgmental metaphor for fruitlessness appears earlier in Luke.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): ‘Song of the Vineyard’: God as vineyard owner who expected justice/fruit from Israel but receives failure — the vineyard/vineowner motif provides a prophetic backdrop for Jesus’ fig‑tree/vine imagery and judgment theme.
- John 15:1-8 (thematic): Vine-and-branches teaching: the necessity of remaining in the vine to bear fruit and the removal/pruning of unfruitful branches. The passage develops the theological theme of fruitfulness and divine pruning/removal.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look—three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and have found none; cut it down. Why should it be wasting the ground?'
- So he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and have found none; cut it down—why should it be wasting the ground?'
Luke.13.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- αποκριθεις: VERB,aor,pass,ptc,nom,sg,m
- λεγει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτω·Κυριε: PRON,dat,sg,m
- αφες: VERB,aor,act,imp,2,sg
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- τουτο: PRON,nom,sg,n
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- ετος: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εως: CONJ
- οτου: CONJ
- σκαψω: VERB,aor,act,subj,1,sg
- περι: PREP
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- βαλω: VERB,aor,act,subj,1,sg
- κοπρια·: NOUN,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Mark 11:12-14 (structural): Same fig-tree episode: Jesus finds a barren fig tree and pronounces judgment; structurally parallels Luke’s fig‑tree teaching about fruitlessness and consequence.
- John 15:1-8 (thematic): Vine and branches imagery where the Father (vinedresser) prunes and cultivates so branches bear fruit—shared theme of divine cultivation, pruning, and the demand for fruit.
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (allusion): The Song of the Vineyard depicts God’s planting of a vineyard that fails to produce good fruit and faces judgment—an earlier prophetic analogue to expectation, failure, and judgment in the fig‑tree motif.
- Hebrews 6:7-8 (thematic): Contrast between land that receives rain and bears useful crops (blessing) and land that bears thorns (judgment)—uses agricultural/fruit imagery to connect fruitfulness with blessing and barrenness with judgment.
- Romans 11:20-22 (thematic): Paul’s warning about being cut off or shown mercy employs cultivation/grafting language—combines the themes of divine patience, care, and final judgment found in the fig‑tree scene.
Alternative generated candidates
- But he answered him, 'Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put manure on it.
- But he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.
Luke.13.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- καν: PART
- μεν: PART
- ποιηση: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- καρπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- μελλον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- ει: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- δε: CONJ
- μηγε: PART
- εκκοψεις: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,sg
- αυτην: PRON,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Matthew 3:10 (thematic): John the Baptist’s warning that every tree which does not bear good fruit will be cut down echoes the fig‑tree parable’s theme of patient forbearance followed by removal if no fruit appears.
- Matthew 7:19 (verbal): Jesus’ teaching that ‘every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’ uses the same imagery of cutting down unfruitful trees as a symbol of judgment.
- Matthew 21:19 (allusion): The cursing of the fig tree that bears no fruit (it withers) parallels the fig‑tree parable’s threat of cutting down an unfruitful tree—both depict consequence for barrenness.
- Mark 11:14–21 (verbal): Mark’s account of Jesus cursing the fig tree (and its subsequent withering) mirrors the parable’s sanction against fruitlessness and uses similar language of rejection and removal.
- John 15:2 (thematic): The vine imagery—branches that do not bear fruit are taken away while fruitful ones are pruned—echoes the concern with fruitfulness and divine action toward unproductive plants in Luke’s parable.
Alternative generated candidates
- If it bears fruit next year, well; but if not, then you may cut it down.'"
- If it bears fruit next year, well; but if not, then after that you shall cut it down.'"
At that very time some who were there reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
He answered them, Do you suppose that those Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered in that way?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were worse offenders than all the people who live in Jerusalem?
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
He also told them this parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, For three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and have found none; cut it down—why should it use up the ground?
The vinedresser answered, Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure.
If it bears fruit next year, well; but if not, then you may cut it down.