Lukas 10:31

10:31 Now by chance ¹  a priest was going down that road, but ²  when he saw the injured man ³  he passed by ⁴  on the other side. ⁵ 

Lukas 18:25

18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ⁶  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

[10:31]  ¹ sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.

[10:31]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.

[18:25]  ⁶ sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle, one of the smallest items one might deal with on a regular basis, in contrast to the biggest animal of the region. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus is saying rhetorically that this is impossible, unless God (v. 27) intervenes.