Luke 20:14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
Seeing, however, them, the vine-dressers debated in the presence of one another saying, "This is the heir. We might destroy him so that ours might become the inheritance.
The translation here is very straightforward. The versions in Matthew and Mark have been very difference but they begin to converge here, especially in what the vine-keepers say.
The Greek word translated as "but" 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.
There is no "when" in the Greek.
The word translated as "to husbandmen" means to those "tilling the ground," and from that, "vine dresser", "gardener," and "peasant."
The verb translated as "saw" means "to see" but it is used like we use the word "see" to mean "to know" or "to perceive." This word begin the verse in Greek and is in the form of an adjective, "seeing".
The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
The word translated as "they reasoned" means primarily to "balance account" but Jesus uses it to mean "consider" or "debate". It is not a common word. It is the root word for our word "dialogue" meaning "two calculating". Its root word is the Greek word logos that means "calculation" or "reasoning" that is usually translated as "word" in the NT. More about the meaning of this word in this article.
The word translated as "among" means "towards", "in front of", "by reason of (for)," and "against."
The "themselves" here is an uncommon word for Christ, and primarily it means "one another."
The word translated as "saying" is the most common word that means "to say," and "to speak," but it also has many ancillary meanings such as "to count" ("to number" or like we might say, "to recount" a story) or "to choose for yourself." Christ usually uses this word to refer to his own speaking or teaching.
"This" is translated from a Greek word that means "this", "that", "the nearer."
The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.
"The heir" is from a noun which means "heir" and "heir apparent."
There is no "come" in the Greek for this verse.
"Let us kill is translated from a Greek word that means "destroy" more than just "kill" because the base word means "slay." The Greek source has the sense of "kill off," that is, destroy in a more thorough way. When we talk about "destroying" someone, we use it to mean destroying their reputation, the strength of their spirit and ideas as well as physically killing them. It is not in the form normally translated as "let us" but a form of possibility: "we might destroy".
The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
The word translated as "that" is an adverb or a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause "there", "where," and "in order that."
"The inheritance" is from a noun that means "inheritance", "property," and "possession." It is from the same root as the word for "heir" above.
The word translated as "may be " means "to become," that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of "being," which is existence in the current state. The form is one of possibility, "might become".
"Ours" is the plural object form of the first-personal pronoun.
ἰδόντες ( part pl aor act masc nom ) "Saw" is eido which means "to see", "to examine", "to perceive", "to behold", "to know how to do", "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know."
δὲ (conj/adv) "But" 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 a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so") and a condition ("if"). --
αὐτὸν (adj sg masc acc) "Him" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it means "just here" or "exactly there."
οἱ γεωργοὶ (adj pl masc nom) "Husbandmen" is from georgos, which means "tilling the ground," and from that, "husbandman", "vine dresser", "gardener," and "peasant." --
διελογίζοντο ( verb 3rd pl imperf ind mp ) "They reasoned" is from dialogizomai, which means "to balance accounts", "to calculate exactly", "to add up account", "to debate," "to argue", and "to impute".
πρὸς (prep) "Among" is pros, which means "on the side of", "in the direction of", "from (place)", "towards" "before", "in the presence of", "in the eyes of", "in the name of", "by reason of", "before (supplication)", "proceeding from (for effects)", "dependent on", "derivable from", "agreeable,""becoming", "like", "at the point of", "in addition to", "against," and "before."
ἀλλήλους [uncommon] (adj pl masc acc) "Themselves" is from allêlôn (allelon), which means "one another", "to one another", "mutually," and "reciprocally."
λέγοντες ( part pl pres act masc nom) "Saying" is lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay", "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep."
Οὗτός ( adj sg masc nom ) "This" is houtos, which as an adjective means "this", "that", "the nearer." As an adverb, it means "in this way", "therefore", "so much", "to such an extent," and "that is why." --
ἐστιν ( verb 3rd sg pres ind act ) "Is" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen", and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.")
ὁ κληρονόμος: [uncommon] ( noun sg masc nom ) "Heir" is from klêronomos (kleronomos), which means "heir" and "heir apparent." --
ἀποκτείνωμεν ( verb 1st pl pres/aor subj act ) "Let us kill" is apokteino, which means "to kill," and "to slay." It combines the word for "to slay" (kteino) with the proposition, apo, indicating separation, meaning "from" or "away from."but it is a stronger form than the normal verb kteino. It is more like our "destroy."
αὐτόν, (adj sg masc acc) "Him" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it means "just here" or "exactly there."
ἵνα (adv/conj) "That" is hina, which means "in that place", "there", "where", "when", "that", "in order that", "when," and "because."
ἡμῶν (pron 1st pl masc gen) "Ours" is hemon, which is the plural object form of the first-personal pronoun. --
γένηται ( verb 3rd sg aor subj mid ) "May be" is ginomai, which means "to become", "to come into being", "to happen", of things "to be produced," of events "take place", "come to pass", "to be engaged in", math "to be multiplied into", "become one of", "turn into".and "to be." It means changing into a new state of being. It is the complementary opposite of the verb "to be" (eimi)which indicates existence in the same state. --
ἡ κληρονομία: (noun sg fem acc) "Inheritance" is from klêronomia, which means "inheritance", "property," and "possession." --