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 10:33

Exegesis:

Samaritēs de tis hodeuōn ‘but a Samaritan who was travelling.’ Samaritēs is emphatic. For the Samaritans and the opinion held about them by the Jews see commentaries and IDB IV, 190-197.

hodeuō ‘to travel,’ ‘to make one’s way,’ without indication of direction or goal of the journey. That the Samaritan was not on his way home may be gathered from v. 35.

ēlthen kat’ auton ‘came upon him,’ unintentionally. For kata cf. on v. 32.

kai idōn esplagchnisthē ‘and when he saw (him) he was moved with pity.’ For splagchnizomai cf. on 7.13.

Translation:

Samaritan, see on 9.52b.

As he journeyed, or, ‘who was on a journey’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC, Balinese), ‘a man from afar (lit. on a far journey)’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, which has the advantage of suggesting that the Samaritan was a foreigner, which the priest and Levite were not).

Came to where he was, but not yet at the man’s side (see v. 34); hence, ‘approached that man,’ or with further specification, ‘came towards (or, passed) the place where he lay neglected, or, the place of the victim’ (Bahasa Indonesia, Balinese).

He had compassion, or, ‘he pitied (him),’ see on 7.13.

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 10:33

10:33a–b

But: In this verse there is a change in the story. Something different happened. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this change with the conjunction But. Consider how you would naturally indicate such a change in a story in your language.

a Samaritan: The word Samaritan refers to a man from the district of Samaria. The Samaritans were the descendants of Jews who had married foreigners. They did not worship God in Jerusalem as the Jews did, and the Jews considered the Samaritans to be foreigners.

It may be helpful to include some of this implied information in the text or in a footnote. A suggested footnote is:

The Samaritans were the descendants of Jews who had married foreigners. They did not worship God in Jerusalem as the Jews did. The Jews hated the Samaritans and did not believe that the Samaritans were God’s people.

The Samaritan is the most significant of the three characters who saw the wounded man. In Greek, the word Samaritan occurs in an emphatic position in the sentence. Consider in what way a storyteller in your language might introduce such a person.

on a journey: The Samaritan was on a journey on the same road. The phrase on a journey fits the situation of the Samaritan who was far from his home.

10:33c

he…had compassion: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he…had compassion means “he felt very sorry for the man.” It refers to the Samaritan’s feeling of compassion. The same Greek word occurs in 7:13. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he felt very sorry for him (New Century Version)
-or-
his heart was filled with pity (Good News Translation)

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