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 10:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:35:

  • Noongar: “Next day he got his money (lit.: “rock”) and he gave the money to the boss of the house. ‘Look after him’, the Samaritan said, ‘and when I return on this road, I will give you more money for everything you used for him.”” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The next day he took two pieces of silver money, he gave it to the house owner and said to him: ‘Look-after this person here. I will come back and pay all your (sing.) expenses if there is more/excess than that.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The next day he gave money to the owner of the house and said to him, ‘Take care of this person for me. If you spend more than this money, I will pay you when I come back here.’ ‘” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When morning came, he gave some money to the owner of the house, and he said to him, ‘Take care of this man for me, who was robbed, and if you spend any more money on him besides what I’m giving you, when I return I will pay you for it.’ ‘” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The next day, he gave the house owner some money and said, ‘Please take-care of him. When I return, I will then add to this money if it is lacking.’ ‘” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Next morning, he took out money. He gave it to the owner of that house and arranged with him saying, ‘If possible/acceptable, look after him. If this which I will leave is lacking, just pay on my behalf. When I return here, I’ll just replace it.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal 2nd person pronoun (Spanish)

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Spanish uses a formal vs. informal second-person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Spanish Bibles all use only the informal second-person pronoun (tú), with the exception of Dios Habla Hoy (third edition: 1996) which also uses the formal pronoun (usted). In the referenced verses, the formal form is used.

Sources and for more information: P. Ellingworth in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 143ff. and R. Ross in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 217ff. .

See also the use of the formal vs. the informal pronoun in the Gospels in Tuvan and 2nd person pronoun with high register.

Japanese benefactives (agete)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, agete (あげて) or “do for their sake” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

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.