Text -- Luke 10:25-37 (NET)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” 10:27 The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 10:28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 10:29 But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. 10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 10:33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. 10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 10:35 The next day he took out two silver coins 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.’ 10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 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).

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).

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

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

NET Notes: Luk 10:26

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:27

¹ 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.

² tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

³ 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.

⁴ tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Luk 10:28

¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² 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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:29

¹ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “vindicate.”

sn The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1-4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness (wanting to justify himself).

NET Notes: Luk 10:30

¹ tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”

² sn The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 mi (27 km), descending some 1800 ft (540 m) in altitude. It was known for its danger because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where the robbers hid.

³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

⁵ tn Grk “and beat,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

⁶ sn That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.

NET Notes: Luk 10:31

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

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.

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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.

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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:32

¹ tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”

² 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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:33

¹ 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.

² tn This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.

³ 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).

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ 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.

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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:34

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ sn The ancient practice of pouring oil was designed to comfort and clean the wounds (Isa 1:6).

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.

NET Notes: Luk 10:35

¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “two denarii.”

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.

³ tn Grk “when I come back”; the words “this way” are part of an English idiom used to translate the phrase.

NET Notes: Luk 10:36

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Luk 10:37

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary.

⁴ tn This recalls the verb of the earlier reply in v. 28.