Luke 16:14–31

KINGDOM VALUES

¹⁴The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,^z were listening to all these things and scoffing^aa at him. ¹⁵And he told them, “You are the ones who justify^ab yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.^ac For what is highly admired by people is revolting^ad in God’s sight.

¹⁶“The^ae Law and the Prophets^af were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God^ag has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.^{C 17}But it is easier^a for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out.

¹⁸“Everyone^b who divorces^c his wife and marries another woman commits adultery,^d and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

¹⁹“There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen,^e feasting lavishly every day. ²⁰But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate.^{f 21}He longed to be filled^g with what fell from the rich man’s table,^h but instead the dogsⁱ would come and lick his sores. ²²One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.^j The rich man also died and was buried. ²³And being in torment^k in Hades,^l he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴‘Father Abraham!’^m he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agonyⁿ in this flame!’

²⁵“ ‘Son,’^A Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things,^o just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here,^p while you are in agony. ²⁶Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’

²⁷“ ‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house—²⁸because I have five brothers—to warn ^qthem, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; ^rthey should listen to them.’

³⁰“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹“But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ”^s