^10:29But the expert,⁹⁴ wanting to justify⁹⁵ himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ^10:30Jesus replied,⁹⁶ “A man was going down⁹⁷ from Jerusalem⁹⁸ to Jericho,⁹⁹ and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat¹⁰⁰ him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.¹⁰¹^10:31Now by chance¹⁰² a priest was going down that road, but¹⁰³ when he saw the injured man¹⁰⁴ he passed by¹⁰⁵ on the other side.¹⁰⁶^10:32So too a Levite, when he came up to¹⁰⁷ the place and saw him,¹⁰⁸ passed by on the other side. ^10:33But¹⁰⁹ a Samaritan¹¹⁰ who was traveling¹¹¹ came to where the injured man¹¹² was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.¹¹³

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Footnotes

94 Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
95 Or “vindicate.” The expert in religious law picked up on the remark about the neighbor and sought to limit his responsibility for loving. Some believed this obligation would only be required toward the righteous (Sir 12:1–4). The lawyer was trying to see if that was right and thus confidently establish his righteousness (wanting to justify himself).
96 Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”
97 The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 mi (27 km), descending some 1800 ft (540 m) in altitude. It was known for its danger because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where the robbers hid.
98 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
99 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
100 Grk “and beat,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
101 That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.
102 The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.
103 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.
104 Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.
106 The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.
107 Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”
108 The clause containing the aorist active participle ἐλθών (elthōn) suggests that the Levite came up to the place, took a look, and then moved on.
109 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the previous characters (considered by society to be examples of piety and religious duty) and a hated Samaritan.
110 This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.
111 The participle ὁδεύων (hodeuōn) has been translated as an adjectival participle (cf. , , ); it could also be taken temporally (“while he was traveling,” cf. , ).
112 Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
113 “Him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The verb means “to feel compassion for,” and the object of the compassion is understood. Here is what made the Samaritan different: He felt compassion for him. In the story, compassion becomes the concrete expression of love. The next verse details explicitly six acts of compassion.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.

NLTNew Living Translation

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” And Jesus replied and said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who both stripped him and beat him. After inflicting blows on him, they went away, leaving him half dead. Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. And in the same way also a Levite, when he came down to the place and saw him, passed by on the opposite side. But a certain Samaritan who was traveling came up to him and, when he saw him, had compassion.

KJV 1900King James Version

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

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