Luke 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 

Luke 1:5

Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

1:5 During the reign ⁶  of Herod ⁷  king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ⁸  the priestly division of Abijah, ⁹  and he had a wife named Elizabeth, ¹⁰  who was a descendant of Aaron. ¹¹ 

[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.

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Grk “It happened that in the days.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:5]  ⁷ sn Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “of”; but the meaning of the preposition ἐκ (ek) is more accurately expressed in contemporary English by the relative clause “who belonged to.”

[1:5]  ⁹ sn There were twenty-four divisions of priesthood and the priestly division of Abijah was eighth on the list according to 1 Chr 24:10.

[1:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and her name was Elizabeth.”

[1:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “a wife of the daughters of Aaron.”