But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

But the husbandmen seeing the son, said among themselves: This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.

But the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance.

and the husbandmen having seen the son, said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and may possess his inheritance;

But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

"But the vine-dressers, when they saw the son, said to one another, "'Here is the heir: come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.'

But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.

But the farmers, seeing the son, said among themselves: 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and then we will have his inheritance.'

But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other 'Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.'

But when the husbandmen - They determined to kill him, and as he was the only son, they supposed they could easily seize on the property It was rented to them; was in their possession; and they resolved to keep it.
This circumstance has probably no reference to any particular conduct of the Jews, but is thrown in to keep up the story and fill up the narrative. An heir is one who succeeds to an estate, commonly a son; an "inheritance" is what an heir receives.

Said among themselves - Alluding to the conspiracies which were then forming against the life of our blessed Lord, in the councils of the Jewish elders and chief priests. See Matthew 27:1.

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us (s) seize on his inheritance.
(s) Literally, "let us hold it fast".

But when the husbandmen saw the son,.... Whom many of them knew, though some did not: some were entirely ignorant of him; some knew him, but durst not confess him, yet were not injurious to him; others acted against light and conscience, with spite and malice, as did these men. They expected the Messiah about this time; they knew, by prophecy, it could not be long ere he appeared: when they saw Jesus of Nazareth, they knew by various circumstances, by all the characters of the Messiah meeting in him, and by his miracles, that he must be the same,
They said among themselves; privately, not openly to the people,
this is the heir; as indeed he is of all things, as the Son of God, and as the mediator of the new covenant: he is heir of all that his Father has, as he is his natural, essential, and only begotten Son; and as mediator, he is heir of all things, natural, spiritual, and eternal, for the use and benefit of his church and people, who are also his portion and inheritance: but here it seems to denote, his being heir to the throne of Israel, the government of the Jewish nation, as he was the son of David; and the Jews confess (y), that because it was said that Jesus of Nazareth was , "near to the kingdom", therefore they put him to death:
come let us kill him, and seize on his inheritance: concluding, that could they be rid of him, their nation would be in peace, their temple would stand, and temple worship and service continue, and they remain in their office and authority undisturbed; the contrary of which they feared, should he be suffered to live; though what they feared from his life, befell them upon, and in consequence of his death, quite beyond all their counsels and expectations,
(y) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 43. 1.

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves--Compare Genesis 37:18-20; John 11:47-53.
This is the heir--Sublime expression this of the great truth, that God's inheritance was destined for, and in due time is to come into the possession of, His own Son in our nature (Hebrews 1:2).
come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance--that so, from mere servants, we may become lords. This is the deep aim of the depraved heart; this is emphatically "the root of all evil."

This is the heir. He for whom the inheritance is meant, and to whom it will in due course rightfully arrive. Christ is "heir of all things" (Hebrews 1:2).
Come, let us kill him. The very words of Genesis (Genesis 37:20), where Joseph's brethren express a similar resolution. This resolution had actually been taken (John 11:53).
Let us seize on his inheritance. If Christ prevailed, Judaism must fall; if they could destroy Christ they could maintain their hold on the vineyard; or, in other words, seize the inheritance. Such was their hope.