The Rennellese translation uses one specific term — haka tihitihi — in Luke 10:31 that encompasses the meaning of “to avoid and pass by on the other side of the road.” This was a particularly fitting translation because it “has a strong negative component. The example people gave was ‘moving to the other side of the road if a child has defecated on the road.’” (Source: David Clark and Nico Daams)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .
For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.
The parable is illustrated for use in Bible translations in West Africa by Wycliffe Cameroon like this:
Illustration 1999 Mbaji Bawe Ernest, © Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. Used with permission.
Following is a painting by Chen Yuandu 陳緣督 (1902-1967):
Housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University.
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Following is a painting by Ketut Lasia (b. 1945):
Ketut Lasia is one of the last traditional Balinese painters in the Ubud style. As an adult, Lasia converted from Hinduism to Christianity, and he paints primarily biblical scenes. You can find artwork from Ketut Lasia in a variety of formats for sale at Fine Art America .
marking the Parable of the Good Samaritan as historical
Indonesian uses a way to introduce a person in the beginning of a story that communicates to the reader or listener whether the story is a historical account a non-historical account. Ada seorang is used for the historical account and adalah seorang for the non-historical account. “In the Indonesian Common Language Bible (Alkitab dalam Bahasa Indonesia Masa Kini, publ. 1985), the second formula is used in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16), and in many other places. The first formula however is used in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Why is it used here when in fact this is a non-historical account? Simply because while it is a parable, yet Jesus told it as if it was a real historical account. This is shown, for example, by the ending of the parable where Jesus asked the religious teacher to give his opinion as to which man showed love to his neighbor.” (Source: Daniel Arichea in The Bible Translator 1986. p. 235f. )
complete verse (Luke 10:31)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:31:
- Noongar: “That day, a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the man, he walked away on the other side of the road.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “Not long after that, there was also a priest passing on that on. When he saw that wounded man, he walked around him and went on.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “And at the same time there was a Yahudi priest going on that road. When he saw the person he made a detour on the other side.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And just after the time that those robbers had left, a Jewish priest of God arrived but when he saw that person who had been robbed, lying there, he just passed around him and continued on his way.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “When that’s how it was, there was a priest heading-downhill along that path, but when he saw that dying-one, he passed-him-by-at-a-distance.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “A priest happened to be traveling at that time. When he saw that person lying there, he by-passed him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 10:25-37)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 10:25-37:
A biblical scholar once questioned Jesus,
“Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?”
“What do you think the Bible teaches about this?”
asked Jesus in return.
The scholar answered, “It commands us
to love God with all our heart
and to love others as much as we love ourselves.”
“That’s right,” answered Jesus
“Now do this, and you’ll have eternal life.”
The man wanted to show off somewhat and inquired,
“Who are these others you’re talking about?”
Jesus explained with a story:
“A Jewish man was on his way to worship in Jerusalem,
when he was brutally robbed and left for dead.
Along came a theologian, but he didn’t pause to help,
then a parishioner praised for his piety passed right by,
too fearful of being defiled and unable to worship God.
“Finally, an Arab came along, and when he saw the man,
he stopped and ministered first aid.
Then he put the Jewish man on his own donkey
and took him to the nearest motel.
“Next morning, he gave the motel manager his credit card
and said, ‘Give him the best treatment possible,
and charge it all to my account’.”
Then Jesus asked the biblical scholar,
“Which one of these people truly cared for the injured man?”
To this the scholar replied, “The one who showed mercy.”
“Go and do the same!” was the answer Jesus gave.
Sung version of Luke 10
Translation commentary on Luke 10:31
Exegesis:
kata sugkurian ‘by coincidence.’
katebainen en tē hodō ekeinē ‘went down on that road,’ i.e. also from Jerusalem to Jericho. Note the durative imperfect.
kai idōn auton antiparēlthen ‘and when he saw him he passed by on the opposite side’ (with shift to the punctiliar aorist), perhaps because of Lev. 21.1 antiparerchomai.
Translation:
By chance, or, “it so happened that” (New English Bible), serves to introduce another event happening, or, going to happen, at the same time and place; hence, ‘at that very time’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘that being so’ (Tae’) are possible renderings also.
Priest, see on 1.5.
Was going down that road, or, ‘was going (down) along that road.’
Saw him, or specifying the pronoun, ‘saw that man,’ ‘saw the man that had-been robbed’ (Balinese).
Passed by on the other side, or, ‘took the other side of the road and passed by’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘made a detour around him’ (Willibrord, Tae’), ‘he cut the road (i.e. went to the other side) before him and passed’ (Sranan Tongo).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 10:31
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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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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