Luke 16:20-23

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.

16:22 “Now ⁷  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ⁸  The ⁹  rich man also died and was buried. ¹⁰  16:23 And in hell, ¹¹  as he was in torment, ¹²  he looked up ¹³  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ¹⁴ 

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 “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.

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁰ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

¹¹ 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).

¹² sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

¹³ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

¹⁴ 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.”