Luke 16:20-21

16:20 But at his gate lay ¹  a poor man named Lazarus ²  whose body was covered with sores, ³  16:21 who longed to eat ⁴  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ⁵  came and licked ⁶  his sores.

Luke 16:1

The Parable of the Clever Steward

16:1 Jesus ⁷  also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations ⁸  that his manager ⁹  was wasting ¹⁰  his assets.

Luke 2:8

The Shepherds’ Visit

2:8 Now ¹¹  there were shepherds ¹²  nearby ¹³  living out in the field, keeping guard ¹⁴  over their flock at night.

John 9:8

9:8 Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previously ¹⁵  as a beggar began saying, ¹⁶  “Is this not the man ¹⁷  who used to sit and beg?”

Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ¹⁸  from birth ¹⁹  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ²⁰  so he could beg for money ²¹  from those going into the temple courts. ²² 

¹ 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).

² 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.

³ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

⁴ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn These are not formal legal charges, but reports from friends, acquaintances, etc.; Grk “A certain man was rich who had a manager, and this one was reported to him as wasting his property.”

⁹ sn His manager was the steward in charge of managing the house. He could have been a slave trained for the role.

¹⁰ tn Or “squandering.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹² sn Some argue that shepherds were among the culturally despised, but the evidence for this view of shepherds is late, coming from 5th century Jewish materials. December 25 as the celebrated date of Jesus’ birth arose around the time of Constantine (ca. a.d. 306-337), though it is mentioned in material from Hippolytus (a.d. 165-235). Some think that the reason for celebration on this date was that it coincided with the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, and Christians could celebrate their own festival at this time without fear of persecution. On the basis of the statement that the shepherds were living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night it is often suggested that Jesus’ birth took place in early spring, since it was only at lambing time that shepherds stood guard over their flocks in the field. This is not absolutely certain, however.

¹³ tn Grk “in that region.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “living in the field (see BDAG 15 s.v. ἀγραυλέω) and guarding their flock.”

¹⁵ tn Or “formerly.”

¹⁶ tn An ingressive force (“began saying”) is present here because the change in status of the blind person provokes this new response from those who knew him.

¹⁷ tn Grk “the one.”

¹⁸ tn Or “crippled.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

²⁰ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

²¹ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

²² tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.