Luke 10:30-34

10:30 Jesus replied, ¹  “A man was going down ²  from Jerusalem ³  to Jericho, ⁴  and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat ⁵  him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. ⁶  10:31 Now by chance ⁷  a priest was going down that road, but ⁸  when he saw the injured man ⁹  he passed by ¹⁰  on the other side. ¹¹  10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to ¹²  the place and saw him, ¹³  passed by on the other side. 10:33 But ¹⁴  a Samaritan ¹⁵  who was traveling ¹⁶  came to where the injured man ¹⁷  was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. ¹⁸  10:34 He ¹⁹  went up to him ²⁰  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ²¹  and wine on them. Then ²²  he put him on ²³  his own animal, ²⁴  brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

[10:30]  ¹ tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”

[10:30]  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.

[10:30]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:30]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:30]  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.

[10:30]  ⁶ sn That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.

[10:31]  ⁷ sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.

[10:31]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”

[10:32]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[10:33]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:33]  ¹⁸ 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.

[10:34]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ sn The ancient practice of pouring oil was designed to comfort and clean the wounds (Isa 1:6).

[10:34]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ sn His own animal refers to a riding animal, presumably a donkey, but not specified.