Lukas 16:14-31

More Warnings about the Pharisees

16:14 The Pharisees ¹  (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed ²  him. 16:15 But ³  Jesus ⁴  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ⁵  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ⁶  among men is utterly detestable ⁷  in God’s sight.

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ⁸  until John; ⁹  since then, ¹⁰  the good news of the kingdom of God ¹¹  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ¹²  16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter ¹³  in the law to become void. ¹⁴ 

16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries ¹⁵  someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ¹⁶  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ¹⁷  every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay ¹⁸  a poor man named Lazarus ¹⁹  whose body was covered with sores, ²⁰  16:21 who longed to eat ²¹  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ²²  came and licked ²³  his sores.

16:22 “Now ²⁴  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ²⁵  The ²⁶  rich man also died and was buried. ²⁷  16:23 And in hell, ²⁸  as he was in torment, ²⁹  he looked up ³⁰  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ³¹  16:24 So ³²  he called out, ³³  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ³⁴  to dip the tip of his finger ³⁵  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ³⁶  in this fire.’ ³⁷  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ³⁸  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. ³⁹  16:26 Besides all this, ⁴⁰  a great chasm ⁴¹  has been fixed between us, ⁴²  so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 16:27 So ⁴³  the rich man ⁴⁴  said, ‘Then I beg you, father – send Lazarus ⁴⁵  to my father’s house 16:28 (for I have five brothers) to warn ⁴⁶  them so that they don’t come ⁴⁷  into this place of torment.’ 16:29 But Abraham said, ⁴⁸  ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to ⁴⁹  them.’ 16:30 Then ⁵⁰  the rich man ⁵¹  said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead ⁵²  goes to them, they will repent.’ 16:31 He ⁵³  replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to ⁵⁴  Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” ⁵⁵ 

[16:14]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[16:14]  ² tn A figurative extension of the literal meaning “to turn one’s nose up at someone”; here “ridicule, sneer at, show contempt for” (L&N 33.409).

[16:15]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

[16:15]  ⁶ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

[16:15]  ⁷ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[16:16]  ⁸ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).

[16:16]  ⁹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[16:16]  ¹⁰ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

[16:16]  ¹¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[16:16]  ¹² tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.

[16:17]  ¹³ tn Or “one small part of a letter” (L&N 33.37).

[16:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to fall”; that is, “to drop out of the text.” Jesus’ point may be that the law is going to reach its goal without fail, in that the era of the promised kingdom comes.

[16:18]  ¹⁵ sn The examples of marriage and divorce show that the ethical standards of the new era are still faithful to promises made in the presence of God. To contribute to the breakup of a marriage, which involved a vow before God, is to commit adultery. This works whether one gets a divorce or marries a person who is divorced, thus finalizing the breakup of the marriage. Jesus’ point concerns the need for fidelity and ethical integrity in the new era.

[16:19]  ¹⁶ sn 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.

[16:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:20]  ¹⁸ tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).

[16:20]  ¹⁹ sn 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.

[16:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[16:21]  ²¹ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ²² tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ²³ sn 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.

[16:22]  ²⁴ tn 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.

[16:22]  ²⁵ tn 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).

[16:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ²⁷ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ²⁸ sn 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).

[16:23]  ²⁹ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ³¹ tn 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.”

[16:24]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ³³ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ³⁴ sn 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.)

[16:24]  ³⁵ sn 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.

[16:24]  ³⁶ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ³⁷ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[16:25]  ³⁸ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ³⁹ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[16:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And in all these things.” There is no way Lazarus could carry out this request even if divine justice were not involved.

[16:26]  ⁴¹ sn The great chasm between heaven and hell is impassable forever. The rich man’s former status meant nothing now.

[16:26]  ⁴² tn Grk “between us and you.”

[16:27]  ⁴³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the rich man’s response to Abraham’s words.

[16:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:27]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Then I beg you, father, that you send him”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:28]  ⁴⁶ sn To warn them. The warning would consist of a call to act differently than their dead brother had, or else meet his current terrible fate.

[16:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “lest they also come.”

[16:29]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “says.” This is one of the few times Luke uses the historical present.

[16:29]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” This recalls the many OT texts calling for a righteous heart to respond to people in need (Deut 14:28-29; Isa 3:14-15; Amos 2:6-8; Mic 2:1-2; Zech 7:9-10).

[16:30]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[16:30]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:30]  ⁵² sn If someone from the dead goes to them. The irony and joy of the story is that what is denied the rich man’s brothers, a word of warning from beyond the grave, is given to the reader of the Gospel in this exchange.

[16:31]  ⁵³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:31]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” See the note on the phrase “respond to” in v. 29.

[16:31]  ⁵⁵ sn The concluding statement of the parable, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead, provides a hint that even Jesus’ resurrection will not help some to respond. The message of God should be good enough. Scripture is the sign to be heeded.