But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion.
Parallel translations
- WEB But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion,
- KJV But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
- NKJV But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.
- NASB But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
- NLT “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A Samaritan, despised by Jews, sees the man and is moved with compassion. Mercy comes from the least expected person.
Overview
Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies, so the hero's identity would have shocked Jesus' hearers. Where the religious officials felt nothing, the outsider is moved with deep compassion. The reversal teaches that true neighbor-love crosses every social and ethnic boundary.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Kgs 8:50May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
- Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”
- Jer 38:7–13Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- Prov 27:10Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
- Matt 18:33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’
- John 4:9“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
- Matt 10:5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
- Jer 39:16–18“Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
- Exod 2:6When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
- John 8:48The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
- Luke 17:16–18He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
- Luke 9:52–53He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 10:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.