^16:19“There was a rich man who dressed in purple⁵⁹ and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously⁶⁰ every day. ^16:20But at his gate lay⁶¹ a poor man named Lazarus⁶² whose body was covered with sores,⁶³^16:21who longed to eat⁶⁴ what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs⁶⁵ came and licked⁶⁶ his sores.

^16:22“Now⁶⁷ the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.⁶⁸ The⁶⁹ rich man also died and was buried.⁷⁰^16:23And in hell,⁷¹ as he was in torment,⁷² he looked up⁷³ and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.⁷⁴^16:24So⁷⁵ he called out,⁷⁶ ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus⁷⁷ to dip the tip of his finger⁷⁸ in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish⁷⁹ in this fire.’⁸⁰^16:25But Abraham said, ‘Child,⁸¹ remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.⁸²^16:26Besides all this,⁸³ a great chasm⁸⁴ has been fixed between us,⁸⁵ so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

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Footnotes

59 Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.
60 Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.
61 The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblēto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, 9.10.2 (9.209).
62 This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.
63 Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).
64 Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.
65 The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).
66 When the dogs came and licked his sores it meant that he was unclean. See the negative image of Rev 22:15 that draws on this picture.
67 Grk “Now it happened that the.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
68 Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).
69 Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
70 The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.
71 The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).
72 Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.
73 Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).
74 Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”
75 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.
76 Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”
77 The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)
78 The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1–2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.
79 Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).
80 Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.
81 The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.
82 Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20–26.
83 Grk “And in all these things.” There is no way Lazarus could carry out this request even if divine justice were not involved.
84 The great chasm between heaven and hell is impassable forever. The rich man’s former status meant nothing now.
85 Grk “between us and you.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ‘Father Abraham!’ 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 agony in this flame!’

“ ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. Besides 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.’

NLTNew Living Translation

Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he was in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side. And he called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so, nor can they cross over from there to us.’

KJV 1900King James Version

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

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