Luke 16:19

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ¹  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ²  every day.

Luke 16:24

16:24 So ³  he called out, ⁴  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ⁵  to dip the tip of his finger ⁶  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ⁷  in this fire.’ ⁸ 

[16:19]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:24]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ⁸ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.