Luke 10:30-42

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. 10:35 The ²⁵  next day he took out two silver coins ²⁶  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.’ ²⁷  10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor ²⁸  to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 The expert in religious law ²⁹  said, “The one who showed mercy ³⁰  to him.” So ³¹  Jesus said to him, “Go and do ³²  the same.”

Jesus and Martha

10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus ³³  entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. ³⁴  10:39 She ³⁵  had a sister named Mary, who sat ³⁶  at the Lord’s feet ³⁷  and listened to what he said. 10:40 But Martha was distracted ³⁸  with all the preparations she had to make, ³⁹  so ⁴⁰  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁴¹  that my sister has left me to do all the work ⁴²  alone? Tell ⁴³  her to help me.” 10:41 But the Lord ⁴⁴  answered her, ⁴⁵  “Martha, Martha, ⁴⁶  you are worried and troubled ⁴⁷  about many things, 10:42 but one thing ⁴⁸  is needed. Mary has chosen the best ⁴⁹  part; it will not be taken away from her.”

[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.

[10:35]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:35]  ²⁶ tn Grk “two denarii.”

[10:35]  ²⁷ tn Grk “when I come back”; the words “this way” are part of an English idiom used to translate the phrase.

[10:36]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary.

[10:37]  ³² tn This recalls the verb of the earlier reply in v. 28.

[10:38]  ³³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:38]  ³⁴ tc Most mss have “into the house” (Ì^3vid א C L Ξ 33 579 pc) or “into her house” (א¹ A C² D W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 Ï lat) at the end of the sentence. But the English translation masks the multitude of variants: Different forms of “house” (οἰκίαν [oikian], οἶκον [oikon]) and “her” occur (see TCGNT 129). These variations argue against authenticity; they no doubt arose because of the abrupt ending of the sentence (the Greek is more literally translated simply as “Martha received him”), prompting copyists to add the location. The shorter reading is found in Ì^45,75 B sa.

[10:39]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:39]  ³⁶ tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.

[10:39]  ³⁷ sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).

[10:40]  ³⁸ sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.

[10:40]  ³⁹ tn Grk “with much serving.”

[10:40]  ⁴⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

[10:40]  ⁴¹ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

[10:40]  ⁴² tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

[10:40]  ⁴³ tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

[10:41]  ⁴⁴ tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (Ì^3,[45],75 א B² L 579 892 pc lat sa).

[10:41]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”

[10:41]  ⁴⁶ sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.

[10:41]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).

[10:42]  ⁴⁸ tc Or, with some mss (̳ [א] B C² L 070^vid ˹ 33 [579] pc), “few things are needed – or only one” (as well as other variants). The textual problem here is a difficult one to decide. The shorter reading is normally preferred, but it is not altogether clear how the variants would arise from it. However, the reading followed in the translation has good support (with some internal variations) from a number of witnesses (Ì^45,75 A C* W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï lat sa).

[10:42]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).