Luke 13:7

These three years I come. The best texts insert ajf ou=, from which, or since. "It is three years from the time at which I came."

Cut it down [ε κ κ ο ψ ο ν]. Rather, "cut it out" [ε κ] from among the other trees and the vines.

Why cumbereth it. The A. V. omits the very important kai, also (Rev.), which, as Trench observes, is the key - word of the sentence. Besides being barren in itself, it also injures the soil. "Not only is it unfruitful, but it draws away the juices which the vines would extract from the earth, intercepts the sun, and occupies room" (Bengel). The verb cumbereth [κ α τ α ρ γ ε ι] means to make of no effect. So Romans 3:3; Romans 3:31; Galatians 3:17. Cumbereth expresses the meaning in a very general and comprehensive way. The specific elements included in it are expressed by Bengel above. De Wette, makes the land unfruitful. See on barren and unfruitful, 2 Peter 1:8.