Luke 16:11-24

16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy ¹  in handling worldly wealth, ²  who will entrust you with the true riches? ³  16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy ⁴  with someone else’s property, ⁵  who will give you your own ⁶ ? 16:13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate ⁷  the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise ⁸  the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ⁹ 

More Warnings about the Pharisees

16:14 The Pharisees ¹⁰  (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed ¹¹  him. 16:15 But ¹²  Jesus ¹³  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ¹⁴  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ¹⁵  among men is utterly detestable ¹⁶  in God’s sight.

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ¹⁷  until John; ¹⁸  since then, ¹⁹  the good news of the kingdom of God ²⁰  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ²¹  16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter ²²  in the law to become void. ²³ 

16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries ²⁴  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 ²⁵  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ²⁶  every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay ²⁷  a poor man named Lazarus ²⁸  whose body was covered with sores, ²⁹  16:21 who longed to eat ³⁰  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ³¹  came and licked ³²  his sores.

16:22 “Now ³³  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ³⁴  The ³⁵  rich man also died and was buried. ³⁶  16:23 And in hell, ³⁷  as he was in torment, ³⁸  he looked up ³⁹  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ⁴⁰  16:24 So ⁴¹  he called out, ⁴²  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ⁴³  to dip the tip of his finger ⁴⁴  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ⁴⁵  in this fire.’ ⁴⁶ 

[16:11]  ¹ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:11]  ² tn Grk “the unrighteous mammon.” See the note on the phrase “worldly wealth” in v. 9.

[16:11]  ³ sn Entrust you with the true riches is a reference to future service for God. The idea is like 1 Cor 9:11, except there the imagery is reversed.

[16:12]  ⁴ tn Or “faithful.”

[16:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “have not been faithful with what is another’s.”

[16:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “what is your own.”

[16:13]  ⁷ sn The contrast between hate and love here is rhetorical. The point is that one will choose the favorite if a choice has to be made.

[16:13]  ⁸ tn Or “and treat [the other] with contempt.”

[16:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “God and mammon.” This is the same word (μαμωνᾶς, mamwnas; often merely transliterated as “mammon”) translated “worldly wealth” in vv. 9, 11.

[16:14]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[16:14]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[16:15]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[16:16]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[16:16]  ¹⁸ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

[16:16]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or “one small part of a letter” (L&N 33.37).

[16:17]  ²⁰ 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]  ²² 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:20]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[16:21]  ³¹ tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ³² tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ³⁷ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ⁴⁵ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.