Luke 13:7 - Plain English Version

⁷ So he talked to his work-man that looked after the garden. He said, ‘Look, this tree is no good. I came here looking for fruit on this tree. I did that for the last 3 years, but I never found any fruit. So chop it down and get rid of it. We can’t let it go on like this. It is using up the ground and giving back nothing to us.’

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

⁷ Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

⁷ So he said to the vinedresser, See here! For these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue also to use up the ground [to deplete the soil, intercept the sun, and take up room]?

American Standard Version (1901)

⁷ And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground?

Common English Bible

⁷ He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’

Catholic Public Domain Version

⁷ Then he said to the cultivator of the vineyard: 'Behold, for these three years I came seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Therefore, cut it down. For why should it even occupy the land?'

Luke 13:7 Cross References

Matthew 7:19

If a farmer has a tree that only makes rubbish fruit, he will cut down that tree and burn it in a fire.

Luke 13:8

But his work-man said, ‘Wait, boss. Leave it for one more year, and I will look after it properly. I’ll dig around it and put some fertilizer stuff on it to help it grow.

John 15:2

And people are like the branches of that grape vine. There are some people that don’t live God’s way. They are like branches on the vine that don’t grow any fruit. They are no good, so the gardener cuts them off. But some people do live God’s way. They are like branches on the vine that do grow fruit. My father keeps on working on those people, to get them to live God’s way even better. He is like the gardener that cleans up the good branches and trims them back a little bit, so that they will grow more fruit.

John 15:6

Some people might not stay joined to me. They will be like branches that the gardener cuts off and throws away. They lie on the ground and dry up, and later on, he will pick them up and throw them into a fire, and it will burn them up.