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 10:32)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:32:

  • Noongar: “One man, a descendant of Levi, also came down the road. He went and looked at the man, and then walked away on the other side of the road.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “So also, a worker in the House of God passed there. When he saw that wounded person, he also just walked around him and went on.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Likewise also another person passed by that place. This person also was a Yahudi, a descendant of Libi and his work was to help the priest in the prayer-house. When he saw the person he also made a detour.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it was the same way with the next person who came along; he was also a Jew, a descendent of Levi, whose work was to help the priests in the church, the house of God. But when he saw that person lying there, he just went around him also and he continued on his way.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Later also, there was a descendant of Levi who arrived. When he came upon that unfortunate-one, he approached him to go look, but then he passed-him-by-at-a-distance going-out-of-sight.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “There was also traveling a Levita who was a helper of the priests in the Templo. He also came across that person, but he just looked at him and also by-passed him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Levite

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For the sign in Spanish Sign Language, see Levi.

More information about Levites .

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.

Translation commentary on Luke 10:32

Exegesis:

homoiōs de kai ‘and in the very same way.’

Leuitēs ‘a Levite,’ a subordinate cultic officer, cf. IDB III, 859f.

[genomenos] (if read) ‘coming on the scene,’ cf. Good News Translation.

kata ton topon elthōn ‘coming to the place.’

Translation:

Levite, or, ‘a man of the tribe of Levi’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘a descendant of L.’ (Balinese, Ekari). The Levite not having the rank of a priest may either be given no honorifics (as in Balinese), or middle class honorifics (as exist in some languages). Material for a footnote, if thought necessary, is to be found e.g. in 1 Chron. 23.28-32.

The place, or specifying the reference, ‘the place of that man’ (Balinese), ‘the place where the unfortunate man (or, the victim) was (lying)’ (cf. Tae’ 1933).

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 10:32

10:32a

So too, when a Levite: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So too indicates that the Levite behaved exactly as the priest had behaved. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

So likewise (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
In the same way (Good News Translation)

In some languages it may be more natural to introduce the Levite in a different way. The information expressed by the phrase “So too” can be expressed by words such as “also.” For example:

Later, there was a Levite…. He also…

Levite: A Levite was a Jewish religious worker who helped the priests in the Temple. The Levites were descendants of Jacob’s son Levi and were members of the tribe called Levi. Jewish people respected them, but their status was not as high as that of priests.

There are several ways to translate this word. Some possibilities are:

• Transliterate the word Levi and include a footnote to explain the meaning. For example:

Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who helped the Jewish priests with their work in the Temple. (New Century Version)

• Transliterate the word Levi and add a descriptive phrase. For example:

a descendant of Levi
-or-
a religious worker from the tribe of Levi
-or-
a temple assistant from the tribe of Levi

• Translate the function of a Levite without using the word Levite. For example:

Temple assistant (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
temple helper (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this in the way that is most natural in your language.

came to that spot and saw him: There is a textual issue here. Some Greek manuscripts include a word that implies that the Levite came close to the man to look at him. The two options are:

(1) Some manuscripts do not include this word. The Levite saw the man but did not approach him. For example:

So too a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him went past on the other side. (Revised English Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)

(2) Other manuscripts include this word. The Levite saw the man and approached him. For example:

Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. (New Century Version)

(Good News Translation, King James Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with a majority of the English versions.

that spot: In some languages it may be necessary to supply information from the preceding context about that spot. For example:

the place ⌊where the man was lying⌋

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.