10:31a–33a

Each of these three verses introduces one of three people who had the opportunity to help the man who had been beaten. Introduce each of these people in a natural way in your language.

10:31a

Now: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces the next event in the story. The word Now is not a time word here.

This verse introduces the first man who came along the road and saw the beaten man. The story does not say how much time had passed before the priest came. If you need to supply a time word or phrase in your language, use a general expression. For example:

Later
-or-
As he was lying there like that

by chance: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as by chance means “by chance” or “coincidentally.” The priest did not know about the other man, but by chance or coincidence he was traveling on the same road.

a priest: A Jewish priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other religious rituals for them. Some ways to translate priest are:

sacrificer
-or-
man/person who sacrifices to God
-or-
man who represents people to God

Avoid using a term that refers only to a fetish priest or to an ordained leader of a local Christian church.

See priest in the Glossary.

was going down: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was going down was also used in 10:30a. Consider whether it is natural in your language to translate it the same way in both verses.

the same road: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the same road is literally “that road.” It refers to the road on which the man was traveling in 10:30a. However, the word road is not used in that verse. Refer to the road in this verse in a natural way in your language. Consider if you may need to mention the road also in 10:30a.

10:31b

but when he saw him: In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly that he refers to the priest. Or it may be necessary to supply some further information about him. For example:

when ⌊the priest⌋ saw the man ⌊lying there⌋

he passed by on the other side: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he passed by on the other side indicates that the priest walked past the man on the opposite side of the road. He stayed as far as possible from the man as he passed him. He did not stop to help the man. Jesus did not say why the priest did not help him, and you should not supply such information.

In some languages an expression such as “other/opposite side of the road” may not be natural. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

he passed by the man, keeping/veering away from him, and went on
-or-
he went around him and continued on his way (God’s Word)

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