The Good Samaritan: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 10:25-37

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it. I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 10:25-37 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 10:25-37 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 10:25-37 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you share about a time when someone helped you when you were having a hard time? What did they do?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will hear a story Jesus told about a kind man who helped a stranger. We will learn what it means to be a good neighbor and how God wants us to care for others.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

care for: (verb) To watch over and help someone who is sick or hurt.
eternal life: (phrase) A life that never ends with God in heaven.
expert: (noun) A person who knows a lot about a subject.
inn: (noun) A simple hotel where travelers stay.
neighbor: 1. (noun) A person who lives near you. 2. (noun) Any person who needs our help and love.
robber: (noun) A person who steals.
Samaritan: (noun) A person from the region of Samaria.
teacher of the law: (phrase) A person who is an expert in the religious rules given to the Jewish people by God.
travel: (verb) To go from one place to another.
wound: (noun) A hurt place on the body.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

beat: (verb) To hit someone many times.
care for: (phrase) To watch over and help someone who is sick or hurt.
donkey: (noun) An animal like a small horse with long ears.
eternal life: (phrase) A life that never ends with God in heaven.
expert: (noun) A person who knows a lot about a subject.
felt sorry for: (phrase) To have felt sad for someone because they were hurt or in trouble.
inn: (noun) A simple hotel where travelers stay.
law: (noun) A set of rules that people must obey.
Levite: (noun) A person from the tribe of Levi who helped in the Temple.
neighbor: 1. (noun) A person who lives near you. 2. (noun) Any person who needs our help and love.
olive oil: (noun) A smooth liquid made from pressing olives that is used for cooking or for burning in lamps.
pay back: (phrase) To give money back to someone because you owed it to them.
priest: (noun) A man who did special work for God in the Temple.
robber: (noun) A person who steals.
Samaritan: (noun) A person from the region of Samaria.
soul: (noun) The part of a person that lives forever and is not the body.
teacher of the law: (phrase) A person who is an expert in the religious rules given to the Jewish people by God.
travel: (verb) To go from one place to another.
wine: (noun) A drink made from the juice of grapes.
wound: (noun) A hurt place on the body.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

again: (adverb) One more time.
almost: (adverb) Only a little bit less than all.
beat: (verb) To hit someone many times.
care for: (verb) To watch over and help someone who is sick or hurt.
cloth: (noun) Material used to make clothes or covers.
clothes: (noun) Things that people wear to cover their bodies.
cover: (verb) To put something over another thing.
dead: (adjective) Not living anymore.
donkey: (noun) An animal like a small horse with long ears.
down: (adverb) Toward a lower place.
either: (adjective) One or the other of two things.
eternal life: (phrase) A life that never ends with God in heaven.
expert: (noun) A person who knows a lot about a subject.
felt sorry for: (phrase) To have felt sad for someone because they were hurt or in trouble.
God: (noun) The creator and ruler of everything.
ground: (noun) The solid surface of the earth.
happen: (verb) To take place.
heart: (noun) The part of a person where they feel and think.
help: (verb) To do something useful for someone.
hurt: (verb) To cause pain to a person or animal.
inn: (noun) A simple hotel where travelers stay.
Jericho: (noun) A very old city in the land of Israel.
Jerusalem: (noun) The most important city in Israel where the Temple was.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
Jewish: (adjective) Relating to the people, religion, or culture of the Jews.
just: (adverb) Only or simply.
law: (noun) A set of rules that people must obey.
left: (verb) To have gone away from a place.
Levite: (noun) A person from the tribe of Levi who helped in the Temple.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
lying: (verb) Resting in a flat position.
mind: (noun) The part of a person that thinks and remembers.
must: (verb) To need to do something.
neighbor: 1. (noun) A person who lives near you. 2. (noun) Any person who needs our help and love.
next: (adjective) Coming right after.
olive oil: (noun) A smooth liquid made from pressing olives that is used for cooking or for burning in lamps.
pay back: (phrase) To give money back to someone because you owed it to them.
pour: (verb) To make a liquid flow out of a container.
priest: (noun) A man who did special work for God in the Temple.
really: (adverb) Truly or very much.
right: (adjective) Something that is correct or good.
road: (noun) A path for people or cars to travel on.
robber: (noun) A person who steals.
Samaritan: (noun) A person from the region of Samaria.
same: (adjective) Not different.
show: (verb) To let someone see something.
silver coin: (noun) A small piece of round metal used as money.
some: (adjective) An amount that is not specific.
soul: (noun) The part of a person that lives forever and is not the body.
spend: (verb) To use money to buy things.
stood up: (phrase) To move the body from sitting or lying down to a standing position.
story: (noun) A description of people and events that happened.
strength: (noun) The quality of being strong.
surround: (verb) To be on every side of something.
take care of: (phrase) To watch over and keep someone or something safe.
teacher of the law: (phrase) A person who is an expert in the religious rules given to the Jewish people by God.
test: (verb) To check if something is true or strong.
think: (verb) To use your mind to have ideas.
took: (verb) To have carried or moved something from one place to another.
tore off: (phrase) To have pulled something away from a person or thing with force.
travel: (verb) To go from one place to another.
walk away: (phrase) To move away from a person or a place by walking.
way: (noun) A path or a method of doing something.
went around: (phrase) To have moved in a different path to avoid something.
wine: (noun) A drink made from the juice of grapes.
work: (verb) To do a job or use effort to finish a task.
wound: (noun) A hurt place on the body.

Summary of the Passage

This passage starts with a teacher of the law asking Jesus a big question. He wanted to know how to get eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law says. The man answered that we should love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love others like ourselves. Jesus told him he was right.

Then the man asked, “Who is my neighbor?” To answer, Jesus told a story. A man was traveling on a dangerous road. Robbers attacked him and left him almost dead. A priest and a Levite saw him but did not help. Finally, a Samaritan man came. At that time, Jewish people and Samaritans were not friends. But this man felt sorry for the hurt traveler. He cleaned the man’s wounds and took him to an inn to care for him. The next day, he gave money to the innkeeper to keep helping the man.

After the story, Jesus asked which person was a good neighbor. The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.” Jesus told him to do the same.

This passage shows us that our neighbor is anyone who needs help. God wants us to care for others, no matter who they are. It teaches us to love with kind hearts and open hands.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

A Story About the Good Samaritan
25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.
He said,
“Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
26 Jesus said to him,
“What is written in the law?
What do you understand from it?”
27 The man answered,
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’
Also, ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’”
28 Jesus said,
“Your answer is right.
Do this and you will have eternal life.”
29 But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right.
So he said to Jesus,
“But who is my neighbor?”
30 To answer this question, Jesus said,
“A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
Some robbers surrounded him, tore off his clothes, and beat him.
Then they left him lying there on the ground almost dead.
31 “It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road.
When he saw the man, he did not stop to help him.
He walked away.
32 Next, a Levite came near.
He saw the hurt man, but he went around him.
He would not stop to help him either.
He just walked away.
33 “Then a Samaritan man traveled down that road.
He came to the place where the hurt man was lying.
He saw the man and felt very sorry for him.
34 The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds.
Then he covered the man’s wounds with cloth.
The Samaritan had a donkey.
He put the hurt man on his donkey, and he took him to an inn.
There he cared for him.
35 The next day, the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the man who worked at the inn.
He said,
‘Take care of this hurt man.
If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said,
“Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?”
37 The teacher of the law answered,
“The one who helped him.”
Jesus said,
“Then you go and do the same.”
Luke 10:25-37 (ERV)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 10:25-37 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 10:25-37 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 10:25-37 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)

Luke 10:25-37 Printable ERV Passage

Comprehension Questions

What question did the teacher of the law ask Jesus at the beginning?
How did Jesus answer his question?
What did the teacher of the law ask next?
What happened to the man traveling on the road?
What did the priest do when he saw the hurt man?
What did the Levite do when he saw the hurt man?
How did the Samaritan help the hurt man?
Where did the Samaritan take the hurt man?
What did the Samaritan give to the innkeeper?
At the end of the story, what question did Jesus ask the teacher?
Who did the teacher say was a good neighbor?
What did Jesus tell the teacher to do?

Application Questions

Why do you think the priest and Levite did not help the hurt man?
Why is it sometimes hard to help people we do not know?
How can we show love to people who are different from us?
What is one kind thing you could do for a neighbor this week?

Theological Insights

Jesus teaches that our neighbor is not just the people we like or who live near us.
God wants us to love others with our actions, not just our words.
Jesus uses stories to help people understand deep truths about God.
The Holy Spirit gives us hearts that feel pity and care for people who are hurt.
Loving others is one way we show love for God.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, Thank you for teaching us to love others. Help us to be kind and caring to the people around us. Make our hearts soft and ready to help. Amen.