Mar 12:9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do?...
Mar 12:9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
Alternative: What will the master of the vineyard really do? He will set out and lay waste to the vine dressers and hand over the vineyard to another.
Wordplay: Only at the end of this parable, does the Christ use the term for "Lord" (kurios) to identify the owner of the vineyard. Here in Mark, he describes him initially as "a man." In Matthew, he starts describing him with oikodespotês, which means "master of the house." The change to "lord" serve the rhetorical purpose of making Christ's meaning clear that he is talking about God.
Hidden meaning: The term translated as "give" here is is the short form of the same verb translated as "let out" in the initial verse of this parable. The difference gives the sense that this second giving is permanent, which the first was a kind of trial.
Again, we see the Christ's common symbolic pattern of three plus one where the three verbs plus one represent the three temporal and one eternal aspect of this event. Here, the verb for "doing" (poieô, which also means "to create") represents the eternal. "Come" is the emotional/relationship aspect. "Destroy" is the physical aspect. "Give" is the mental aspect.
In the Greek of the Gospels, verbs can indicate how certain the speaker thinks the future event will be. When Christ speaks of the future in his parables, he usually uses the form the indicates that something will probably happen in the future. Here, however, he uses the form that indicates that this certainly will happen.This is emphasized by the use of oun, translated in KJV as the innocuous "therefore" but usually having the meaning of emphasizing the truth of what is being said.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Mat 21:40 is the parallel verse in Matthew but in that versions, Christ doesn't actually say what the landowner will do.
Vocabulary:
"What" is from tis (tis) which can mean "someone," "any one," "everyone," "many a one," "whoever," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what."
"Therefore" is from oun (oun), which means "certainly," "in fact," "really," "in fact," "so" and "then" (continuing a narrative), and "then" and "therefore."
"Shall do" is from poieô ( poieo), which means "to make," "to produce," "to create," "to bring into existence," "to bring about," "to cause," "to render," "to consider," "to prepare," "to make ready," and "to do."
"Lord" is from kurios (kyrios), which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."
"Vineyard" is from ampelôn, (ampelon) which means simply "vineyard."
"He will come" is from erchomai (erchomai), which means to start," "to set out," "to come," "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place.
"Destroy" is from apollumi (apollymi), which means "to demolish," "to lay waste," "to lose," "to perish," "to die," "to cease to exist," and "to be undone."
"Husbandmen" is from geôrgos (georgos), which means "husbandman," "vine dresser," "gardener," and "peasant."
"Give" is from didômi (didomi), which means "to give," "to grant," "to hand over," and "to describe."
"Another" and "others" are from allos (allos), which means "another."
