Luke 10:25-37

New Testament for Everyone

The parable of the good Samaritan

²⁵ A lawyer got up and put Jesus on the spot.

“Teacher,” he said, “what should I do to inherit the life of the coming age?”

²⁶ “Well,” replied Jesus, “what is written in the law? What’s your interpretation of it?”

²⁷ “You shall love the Lord your God,” he replied, “with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁸ “Well said!” replied Jesus. “Do that and you will live.”

²⁹ “Ah,” said the lawyer, wanting to win the point, “but who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Jesus rose to the challenge. “Once upon a time,” he said, “a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was set upon by brigands. They stripped him and beat him and ran off leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down that road, and when he saw him he went past on the opposite side. ³² So too a Levite came by the place; he saw him too, and went past on the opposite side.

³³ “But a traveling Samaritan came to where he was. When he saw him he was filled with pity. ³⁴ He came over to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. Then he put him on his own beast, took him to an inn, and looked after him. ³⁵ The next morning, as he was going on his way, he gave the innkeeper two dinars. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my way back I’ll pay you whatever else you need to spend on him.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think turned out to be the neighbor of the man who was set upon by the brigands?”

³⁷ “The one who showed mercy on him,” came the reply.

“Well,” Jesus said to him, “you go and do the same.”