The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus (A)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to [a](B)Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in (C)Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his [b]arms. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘(D)Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in (E)this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that (F)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And [c]besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may (G)warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They have [d](H)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, (I)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:22 Lit Abraham’s bosom; or lap; ancient Jewish terminology for the place of the righteous dead
  2. Luke 16:23 See note v 22
  3. Luke 16:26 Lit in all these things
  4. Luke 16:29 I.e., the books of Moses and the prophets, read aloud in the synagogues

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was brought to his gate. 21 He was always trying to satisfy his hunger with what fell[a] from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs used to come and lick his sores.

22 “One day, the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In the afterlife,[b] where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side. 24 So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember that during your lifetime you received blessings,[c] while Lazarus received hardships.[d] But now he is being comforted here, while you suffer. 26 Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.’

27 “The rich man[e] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus[f] to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t end up in this place of torture, too.’

29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!’

30 “But the rich man[g] replied, ‘No, father Abraham! But if someone from the dead went to them, they would repent.’

31 “Then Abraham[h] told him, ‘If your brothers[i] do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 16:21 Other mss. read the scraps that fell
  2. Luke 16:23 Lit. Hades, i.e. the realm of the dead
  3. Luke 16:25 Lit. good things
  4. Luke 16:25 Lit. and Lazarus in like manner evil things
  5. Luke 16:27 Lit. He
  6. Luke 16:27 Lit. him
  7. Luke 16:30 Lit. he
  8. Luke 16:31 Lit. he
  9. Luke 16:31 Lit. If they