Lukas 10:25-28

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25 Now ¹  an expert in religious law ²  stood up to test Jesus, ³  saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ⁴  10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” ⁵  10:27 The expert ⁶  answered, “Love ⁷  the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, ⁸  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁹  10:28 Jesus ¹⁰  said to him, “You have answered correctly; ¹¹  do this, and you will live.”

Lukas 10:31-37

10:31 Now by chance ¹²  a priest was going down that road, but ¹³  when he saw the injured man ¹⁴  he passed by ¹⁵  on the other side. ¹⁶  10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to ¹⁷  the place and saw him, ¹⁸  passed by on the other side. 10:33 But ¹⁹  a Samaritan ²⁰  who was traveling ²¹  came to where the injured man ²²  was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. ²³  10:34 He ²⁴  went up to him ²⁵  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ²⁶  and wine on them. Then ²⁷  he put him on ²⁸  his own animal, ²⁹  brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 10:35 The ³⁰  next day he took out two silver coins ³¹  and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’ ³²  10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor ³³  to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 The expert in religious law ³⁴  said, “The one who showed mercy ³⁵  to him.” So ³⁶  Jesus said to him, “Go and do ³⁷  the same.”

[10:25]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:25]  ² tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 7:30, where the same term occurs).

[10:25]  ³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:25]  ⁴ sn The combination of inherit with eternal life asks, in effect, “What must I do to be saved?”

[10:26]  ⁵ tn Grk “How do you read?” The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:27]  ⁶ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

[10:27]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.

[10:27]  ⁹ tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[10:28]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ¹¹ sn Jesus commends the reply (you have answered correctly). What is assumed here, given the previous context, is that he will respond to Jesus’ message, as to love God is to respond to his Son; see v. 22.

[10:31]  ¹² sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.

[10:31]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.

[10:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ¹⁵ sn It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.

[10:31]  ¹⁶ sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.

[10:32]  ¹⁷ tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”

[10:32]  ¹⁸ tn The clause containing the aorist active participle ἐλθών (elqwn) suggests that the Levite came up to the place, took a look, and then moved on.

[10:33]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the previous characters (considered by society to be examples of piety and religious duty) and a hated Samaritan.

[10:33]  ²⁰ tn This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:33]  ²¹ tn The participle ὁδεύων (Jodeuwn) has been translated as an adjectival participle (cf. NAB, NASB, TEV); it could also be taken temporally (“while he was traveling,” cf. NRSV, NIV).

[10:33]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:33]  ²³ tn “Him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The verb means “to feel compassion for,” and the object of the compassion is understood.

[10:33]  sn Here is what made the Samaritan different: He felt compassion for him. In the story, compassion becomes the concrete expression of love. The next verse details explicitly six acts of compassion.

[10:34]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:34]  ²⁵ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:34]  ²⁶ sn The ancient practice of pouring oil was designed to comfort and clean the wounds (Isa 1:6).

[10:34]  ²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:34]  ²⁸ tn It is not clear whether the causative nuance of the verb included actual assistance or not (“helped him on” versus “had him get on”; see L&N 15.98), but in light of the severity of the man’s condition as described in the preceding verses, some degree of assistance was almost certainly needed.

[10:34]  ²⁹ sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.

[10:35]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:35]  ³¹ tn Grk “two denarii.”

[10:35]  sn The two silver coins were denarii. A denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s pay for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about two days’ pay.

[10:35]  ³² tn Grk “when I come back”; the words “this way” are part of an English idiom used to translate the phrase.

[10:36]  ³³ sn Jesus reversed the question the expert in religious law asked in v. 29 to one of becoming a neighbor by loving. “Do not think about who they are, but who you are,” was his reply.

[10:37]  ³⁴ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:37]  ³⁵ sn The neighbor did not do what was required (that is why his response is called mercy) but had compassion and out of kindness went the extra step that shows love. See Mic 6:8. Note how the expert in religious law could not bring himself to admit that the example was a Samaritan, someone who would have been seen as a racial half-breed and one not worthy of respect. So Jesus makes a second point that neighbors may appear in surprising places.

[10:37]  ³⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary.

[10:37]  ³⁷ tn This recalls the verb of the earlier reply in v. 28.