(prepositionally) down (in place or time) · preposition
chance
συγκυρίανsugkurian
G4795
from the base of G2962 (κύριος)) · noun — accusative singular feminine
there came down
κατέβαινενkatebainen
G2597
to descend (literally or figuratively) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
a certain
τιςtis
G5100
some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative singular masculine
priest
ἱερεύςhi'ereus
G2409
a priest (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
that
ἐκείνῃ,ekeinē
G1565
that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — dative singular feminine
way
ὁδῷhodō
G3598
a road · noun — dative singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
when he saw
ἰδὼνidōn
G1492
used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
him
αὐτὸνauton
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
he passed by on the other side
ἀντιπαρῆλθεν.antiparēlthen
G492
to go along opposite · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 69:20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I…
1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Proverbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end th…
Hosea 6:9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.
Ruth 2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who…
Psalms 142:4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet r…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 10:25-37
We have here Christ's discourse with a lawyer about some points of conscience, which we are all concerned to be rightly informed in and are so here from Christ though the questions were proposed with no good intention.
I. We are concerned to know what that good is which we should do in this life, in order to our attaining eternal life. A question to this purport was proposed to our Saviour by a certain lawyer, or scribe, only with a design to try him, not with a desire to be instructed by him, Luk 10:25. The lawyer stood up, and asked him, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? If Christ had any thing peculiar to prescribe, by this question he would get it out of him, and perhaps e…
came down a . . . priest . . . and a Levite--Jericho, the second city of Judea, was a city of the priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The two here mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from temple duties, but they had not learnt what that meaneth, 'I will have mercy and not sacrifice' [TRENCH].
saw him--It was not inadvertently that he acted.
came and looked--a further aggravation.
passed by--although the law expressly required the opposite treatment even of the beast not only of their brethren, but of their enemy (Deu 22:4; Exo 23:4-5; compare Isa 58:7).
Adam Clarke on Luke 10:31
And by chance - Κατα συγκυριαν properly means the coincidence of time and circumstance. At the time in which the poor Jew was half dead, through the wounds which he had received, a priest came where he was. So the priest's coming while the man was in that state is the coincidence marked out by the original words.
Priest and Levite are mentioned here, partly because they were the most frequent travelers on this road, and partly to show that these were the persons who, from the nature of their office, were most obliged to perform works of mercy; and from whom a person in distress had a right to expect immediate succor and comfort; and their inhuman conduct here was a flat breach of the law, D…
And it came to pass that on the same road there went down first a "priest", then a "Levite", who had perhaps done certain good things to other men, yet not to this one who had gone down "from Jerusalem to Jericho". For the "priest" saw him — the law, I think — the "Levite" saw him — the prophetic word, as I suppose — and when they had seen him, they passed by and left him.
It happened that a certain priest was going down the same way, and upon seeing him, he passed by. Similarly, a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. The priest and the Levite, who, seeing the wounded man, passed by, are the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament, where through the decrees of the law the wounds of the languishing world could only be shown, but not healed, because it was impossible (as the Apostle says) for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 9).
(ubi sup.) Here then was man (that is, Adam) lying destitute of the aid of salvation, pierced with the wounds of his sins, whom neither Aaron the high priest passing by could advantage by his sacrifice; for it follows, And by chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Nor again could his brother Moses the Levite assist him by the Law, as it follows, And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Adummim — The red ones, a place apparently on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, “on the south side of the torrent” Wady Kelt, looking toward Gilgal, mentioned Josh. 15:7; 18:17. It was nearly half-way…
Chance — (Luke 10:31). “It was not by chance that the priest came down by that road at that time, but by a specific arrangement and in exact fulfilment of a plan; not the plan of the priest, nor the plan of…
Martha — Bitterness, the sister of Lazarus and Mary, and probably the eldest of the family, who all resided at Bethany (Luke 10:38, 40, 41; John 11:1-39). From the residence being called “her house,” some…
Lawyer · Test Jesus with questions — Test Jesus with questions
Neighbor · 8:16,17; — 8:16,17;
Parables · Good Samaritan — Good Samaritan
Self-Righteousness · 2:4; — 2:4;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Luke 10:31
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way,.... Who had been at Jerusalem, to take his turn in the courses, and was now returning to Jericho, where the stationary men were, to which he belonged: for it is said (t), that
"the former prophets appointed twenty and four courses; and for every course there was a station at Jerusalem, of priests, and of Levites, and of Israelites; and when the time of the course came to go up, the priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem. The Rabbins teach, that there were twenty four courses in the land of Israel, and there were twelve at Jericho.''
And which is elsewhere (u) related thus;
"the former prophets appointed four and twenty courses, an…
Luke 10:25-37
Matthew 22:34-40
Mark 12:28-34
Luke 10:25-37
34. But when the Pharisees heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they assembled together. 35. And one of them, a doctor of the law, put a question to him, tempting him, and saying, 36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37. Jesus saith to him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as much as thyself. 40. On these two commandments the whole law and the prophets depend.
28. And when one of the scribes came, and heard them disputing together,…
a priest: Priests were descendants of Aaron from the tribe of Levi (Exod 28:1-3). They served in the Temple and offered sacrifices to God. • passed him by: A priest or a Levite became unclean and unable to serve in the Temple if he touched a dead body. This priest was unwilling to risk ritual impurity by helping a person in desperate trouble.
