Luke 9:52-56

9:52 He ¹  sent messengers on ahead of him. ²  As they went along, ³  they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance ⁴  for him, 9:53 but the villagers ⁵  refused to welcome ⁶  him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. ⁷  9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume ⁸  them?” ⁹  9:55 But Jesus ¹⁰  turned and rebuked them, ¹¹  9:56 and they went on to another village.

Luke 10:32-35

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 

John 4:9

4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew ²⁸  – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water ²⁹  to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common ³⁰  with Samaritans.) ³¹ 

John 4:21-22

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ³²  a time ³³  is coming when you will worship ³⁴  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people ³⁵  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ³⁶ 

John 4:39-42

The Samaritans Respond

4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, ³⁷  “He told me everything I ever did.” 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking ³⁸  him to stay with them. ³⁹  He stayed there two days, 4:41 and because of his word many more ⁴⁰  believed. 4:42 They said to the woman, “No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one ⁴¹  really is the Savior of the world.” ⁴² 

John 8:48

8:48 The Judeans ⁴³  replied, ⁴⁴  “Aren’t we correct in saying ⁴⁵  that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” ⁴⁶ 

Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts ⁴⁷  of the earth.”

Acts 8:5-25

8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria ⁴⁸  and began proclaiming ⁴⁹  the Christ ⁵⁰  to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, ⁵¹  as they heard and saw the miraculous signs ⁵²  he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, ⁵³  crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, ⁵⁴  and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was ⁵⁵  great joy ⁵⁶  in that city.

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ⁵⁷  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, ⁵⁸  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ⁵⁹  8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God ⁶⁰  and the name of Jesus Christ, ⁶¹  they began to be baptized, ⁶²  both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to ⁶³  Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed. ⁶⁴ 

8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem ⁶⁵  heard that Samaria had accepted the word ⁶⁶  of God, they sent ⁶⁷  Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two ⁶⁸  went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit ⁶⁹  had not yet come upon ⁷⁰  any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ⁷¹  8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, ⁷²  and they received the Holy Spirit. ⁷³ 

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit ⁷⁴  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power ⁷⁵  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, ⁷⁶  because you thought you could acquire ⁷⁷  God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part ⁷⁸  in this matter ⁷⁹  because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ⁸⁰  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ⁸¹  8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious ⁸²  and in bondage to sin.” 8:24 But Simon replied, ⁸³  “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to ⁸⁴  me.”

8:25 So after Peter and John ⁸⁵  had solemnly testified ⁸⁶  and spoken the word of the Lord, ⁸⁷  they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming ⁸⁸  the good news to many Samaritan villages ⁸⁹  as they went. ⁹⁰ 

[9:52]  ¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:52]  ² tn Grk “sent messengers before his face,” an idiom.

[9:52]  ³ tn Grk “And going along, they entered.” The aorist passive participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken temporally. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[9:52]  ⁴ tn Or “to prepare (things) for him.”

[9:53]  ⁵ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the villagers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:53]  ⁶ tn Or “did not receive”; this verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality or welcome (L&N 34.53).

[9:53]  ⁷ tn Grk “because his face was set toward Jerusalem.”

[9:54]  ⁸ tn Or “destroy.”

[9:54]  ⁹ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï it), read here “as also Elijah did,” making the allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14 more explicit. The shorter reading has better and earlier support (Ì^45,75 א B L Ξ 579 700* 1241 pc lat sa). It is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer, especially since it is well represented early on. However, the longer reading looks to have been a marginal note originally, incorporated into the text of Luke by early scribes.

[9:55]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:55]  ¹¹ tc Many mss ([D] K Γ Θ Ë^1,13 [579] 700 2542 pm it) have at the end of the verse (with slight variations) “and he said, ‘You do not know what sort of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save [them].’” This variant is clearly secondary, as it gives some content to the rebuke. Further, it is difficult to explain how such rich material would have been omitted by the rest of the witnesses, including the earliest and best mss.

[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.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn Or “a Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” The same term occurs in the plural later in this verse. In one sense “Judean” would work very well in the translation here, since the contrast is between residents of the two geographical regions. However, since in the context of this chapter the discussion soon becomes a religious rather than a territorial one (cf. vv. 19-26), the translation “Jew” has been retained here and in v. 22.

[4:9]  ²⁹ tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:9]  ³⁰ tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.

[4:9]  ³¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[4:21]  ³² sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ³³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ³⁴ tn The verb is plural.

[4:22]  ³⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ³⁶ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[4:39]  ³⁷ tn Grk “when she testified.”

[4:40]  ³⁸ tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.

[4:40]  ³⁹ tn Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[4:41]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “and they believed much more.”

[4:42]  ⁴¹ tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).

[4:42]  ⁴² sn There is irony in the Samaritans’ declaration that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, an irony foreshadowed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (1:11): “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Yet the Samaritans welcomed Jesus and proclaimed him to be not the Jewish Messiah only, but the Savior of the world.

[8:48]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.

[8:48]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[8:48]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”

[8:48]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.

[1:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “to the ends.”

[8:5]  ⁴⁸ tn The word “main” is supplied in the translation to clarify that “Samaria” is not the name of the city (at least in NT times). See both BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, and L&N 93.568.

[8:5]  ⁴⁹ tn The imperfect ἐκήρυσσεν (ekhrussen) has been translated as an ingressive, since this is probably the first time such preaching took place.

[8:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:6]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.

[8:6]  ⁵² tn Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).

[8:7]  ⁵³ sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.

[8:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”

[8:8]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and there came about,” but this is somewhat awkward in English.

[8:8]  ⁵⁶ sn Great joy. The reason for eschatological joy was that such events pointed to God’s decisive deliverance (Luke 7:22-23). Note how the acts of healing extend beyond the Twelve here.

[8:9]  ⁵⁷ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

[8:12]  ⁶⁰ sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.

[8:12]  ⁶¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[8:12]  ⁶² tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[8:13]  ⁶³ tn Or “he kept close company with.”

[8:13]  ⁶⁴ sn He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture has to offer.

[8:14]  ⁶⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:14]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “message.”

[8:14]  ⁶⁷ sn They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15-17.

[8:15]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[8:16]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “fallen on.”

[8:16]  ⁷¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:17]  ⁷² tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:17]  ⁷³ sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38-40.

[8:18]  ⁷⁴ tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”

[8:20]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “May your silver together with you be sent into destruction.” This is a strong curse. The gifts of God are sovereignly bestowed and cannot be purchased.

[8:20]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “obtain.”

[8:21]  ⁷⁸ tn The translation “share or part” is given by L&N 63.13.

[8:21]  ⁷⁹ tn Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the prepositional phrase here. Something along the lines of “in this thing” would work well, but is too colloquial for the present translation.

[8:22]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.

[8:23]  ⁸² tn Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of the apostles’ power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself. The literal phrase does not convey this to the modern reader, and in fact some modern translations have simply rendered the phrase as involving bitterness, which misses the point of the envy on Simon’s part. See L&N 88.166. The OT images come from Deut 29:17-18 and Isa 58:6.

[8:24]  ⁸³ tn Grk “Simon answered and said.”

[8:24]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “may come upon.”

[8:25]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “after they”; the referents (Peter and John) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁸⁶ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn,” and could be taken to refer specifically to the warning given to Simon in the preceding verses. However, a more general reference is more likely, referring to parting exhortations from Peter and John to the entire group of believers.

[8:25]  ⁸⁷ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[8:25]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “they were returning to Jerusalem and were proclaiming.” The first imperfect is taken ingressively and the second is viewed iteratively (“proclaiming…as they went”).

[8:25]  ⁸⁹ sn By proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages, the apostles now actively share in the broader ministry the Hellenists had started.

[8:25]  ⁹⁰ tn “As they went” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the imperfect tense (see tn above).