Bible Strands
Luke 10:31
Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus tells this narrative to a lawyer who had previously asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. The scene occurs on the road descending from Jerusalem to Jericho as the priest travels downward.
The words — The Greek συγκυρίαν (sugkurian) translates literally as "chance," marking the encounter as accidental. The verb κατέβαινεν (katebainen) means "was going down," aligning with the road's descent from Jerusalem.
The thread — This deliberate avoidance repeats in Luke 10:32 when the Levite follows the same route and crosses to the other side. The ignored cry for help echoes the isolation described in Psalm 69:20 and the warning in Proverbs 21:13 about shutting ears to the poor.
Why it lands — The text states that a priest saw a half-dead man and deliberately passed by on the opposite side. It requires the reader to acknowledge how religious position or convenience can override direct responsibility for visible suffering.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Cross-references
- Psalms 69:20 Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- 1 John 3:16 By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- Proverbs 21:13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Hosea 6:9 Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.
- Ruth 2:3 So Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
- Psalms 142:4 Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11 I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
- Hosea 5:1 “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
- Malachi 1:10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.