Proverbs 14:32

14:32 The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, ¹ 

but the righteous have refuge ²  even in the threat of death. ³ 

Luke 16:23-24

16:23 And in hell, ⁴  as he was in torment, ⁵  he looked up ⁶  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ⁷  16:24 So ⁸  he called out, ⁹  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ¹⁰  to dip the tip of his finger ¹¹  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ¹²  in this fire.’ ¹³ 

[14:32]  ¹ tn The prepositional phrase must be “in his time of trouble” (i.e., when catastrophe comes). Cf. CEV “In times of trouble the wicked are destroyed.” A wicked person has nothing to fall back on in such times.

[14:32]  ² sn The righteous have hope in a just retribution – they have a place of safety even in death.

[14:32]  ³ tc The LXX reads this as “in his integrity,” as if it were בְּתוּמּוֹ (bÿtumo) instead of “in his death” (בְּמוֹתוֹ, bÿmoto). The LXX is followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB “in his honesty,” NRSV “in their integrity,” and TEV “by their integrity”).

[16:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ¹³ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.