The Meaning of Luke 13:6 Explained

Luke 13:6

KJV: He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

YLT: And he spake this simile: 'A certain one had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit in it, and he did not find;

Darby: And he spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit upon it and did not find any.

ASV: And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He spake  also  this  parable;  A certain  [man] had  a fig tree  planted  in  his  vineyard;  and  he came  and sought  fruit  thereon,  and  found  none. 

What does Luke 13:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 13:1-9 - Both Repentance And Fruitfulness Required
Our Lord did not hesitate to hang great lessons on passing events. It is a great art to lead men's thoughts from the outward and transient to the unseen and eternal. God often gives us texts in the happenings of His providence, and when men's hearts are awed and softened there is a conspicuous opportunity for striking home.
We have no right to suppose that sudden disasters prove the presence of special sin in those who are involved in them. Sin is avenged in this life, but rather in the natural sequences than by some sudden "act of God." Accidents are not necessarily punishments, and we who witness the sad fate of others have no right to congratulate ourselves on our moral or spiritual superiority. Instead of judging others, let us look to ourselves and repent.
The parable of the fig-tree, with its three years of effort to secure fruitfulness, was intended primarily for the Jewish nation favored with our Lord's three years of ministry. But it is of universal application. God is always seeking fruit; love is ever pleading, but sometimes may have to acquiesce in judgment. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 13

1  Jesus preaches repentance upon the punishment of the Galilaeans and others
6  The fruitless fig tree may not stand
10  He heals the crooked woman;
18  shows the powerful working of the word, by the parable of the grain of mustard seed,
20  and of leaven;
22  exhorts to enter in at the strait gate;
31  and reproves Herod and Jerusalem

Greek Commentary for Luke 13:6

Planted [πεπυτευμενην]
Perfect passive participle of πυτευω — phuteuō to plant, an old verb, from πυτον — phuton a plant, and that from πυω — phuō to grow. But this participle with ειχεν — eichen (imperfect active of εχω — echō) does not make a periphrastic past perfect like our English “had planted.” It means rather, he had a fig tree, one already planted in his vineyard. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 13:6

John 15:1 The true vine [ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινὴ]
Literally, the vine, the true (vine). True, genuine, answering to the perfect ideal. See on John 1:9. The vine was a symbol of the ancient church. See the passages cited above, and Hosea 10:1; Matthew 21:33; Luke 13:6. [source]
Hebrews 5:14 For full-grown men [τελειων]
Predicate genitive. The word is for adults, relative perfection Their senses The organs of perception (Stoic term for sense organs) from αιστανομαι — aisthanomai (Luke 9:45), in Plato, Galen, Hippocrates, here only in N.T. Exercised Perfect passive participle of γυμναζω — gumnazō to exercise (naked, γυμνος — gumnos). Galen uses αιστητηρια γεγυμνασμενα — aisthētēria gegumnasmena together after εχω — echō as we have here. For this predicate use of the participle with εχω — echō see Luke 13:6; Luke 14:19. “By reason of use” one gains such skill. To discern “For deciding between” (from διακρινω — diakrinō), old word with ablative καλου τε και κακου — kalou te kai kakou (between good and evil). See 1 Corinthians 12:1; Romans 14:1. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 13:6 mean?

He was speaking then this - parable A fig tree had a certain [man] planted in the vineyard of him and he came seeking fruit on it not did find [any]
Ἔλεγεν δὲ ταύτην τὴν παραβολήν Συκῆν εἶχέν τις πεφυτευμένην ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἦλθεν ζητῶν καρπὸν ἐν αὐτῇ οὐχ εὗρεν

Ἔλεγεν  He  was  speaking 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
ταύτην  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
τὴν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
παραβολήν  parable 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: παραβολή  
Sense: a placing of one thing by the side of another, juxtaposition, as of ships in battle.
Συκῆν  A  fig  tree 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: συκῆ  
Sense: a fig tree.
τις  a  certain  [man] 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
πεφυτευμένην  planted 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: φυτεύω  
Sense: to plant.
ἀμπελῶνι  vineyard 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀμπελών  
Sense: a vineyard.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἦλθεν  he  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ζητῶν  seeking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ζητέω  
Sense: to seek in order to find.
καρπὸν  fruit 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: καρπός  
Sense: fruit.
εὗρεν  did  find  [any] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εὑρίσκω  
Sense: to come upon, hit upon, to meet with.