Luke 10:25-26

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 

[10:25]  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.