Luke 6:24

6:24 “But woe ¹  to you who are rich, for you have received ²  your comfort ³  already.

Luke 12:16-21

12:16 He then ⁴  told them a parable: ⁵  “The land of a certain rich man produced ⁶  an abundant crop, 12:17 so ⁷  he thought to himself, ⁸  ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ⁹  12:18 Then ¹⁰  he said, ‘I ¹¹  will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 And I will say to myself, ¹²  “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ¹³  will be demanded back from ¹⁴  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ¹⁵  12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, ¹⁶  but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 16:19-25

The Rich Man and Lazarus

16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple ¹⁷  and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously ¹⁸  every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay ¹⁹  a poor man named Lazarus ²⁰  whose body was covered with sores, ²¹  16:21 who longed to eat ²²  what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs ²³  came and licked ²⁴  his sores.

16:22 “Now ²⁵  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ²⁶  The ²⁷  rich man also died and was buried. ²⁸  16:23 And in hell, ²⁹  as he was in torment, ³⁰  he looked up ³¹  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ³²  16:24 So ³³  he called out, ³⁴  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ³⁵  to dip the tip of his finger ³⁶  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ³⁷  in this fire.’ ³⁸  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ³⁹  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ⁴⁰ 

Luke 18:11-14

18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ⁴¹  ‘God, I thank ⁴²  you that I am not like other people: ⁴³  extortionists, ⁴⁴  unrighteous people, ⁴⁵  adulterers – or even like this tax collector. ⁴⁶  18:12 I fast twice ⁴⁷  a week; I give a tenth ⁴⁸  of everything I get.’ 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood ⁴⁹  far off and would not even look up ⁵⁰  to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful ⁵¹  to me, sinner that I am!’ ⁵²  18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ⁵³  rather than the Pharisee. ⁵⁴  For everyone who exalts ⁵⁵  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:24-25

18:24 When Jesus noticed this, ⁵⁶  he said, “How hard ⁵⁷  it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ⁵⁸  18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ⁵⁹  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ⁶⁰  Jesus ⁶¹  told them a parable to show them they should always ⁶²  pray and not lose heart. ⁶³ 

Colossians 1:26

1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints.

Colossians 4:8

4:8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing ⁶⁴  and that he may encourage your hearts.

James 2:6

2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ⁶⁵  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

James 5:1-6

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ⁶⁶  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ⁶⁷  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶⁸  5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. ⁶⁹ 

Revelation 3:17-18

3:17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, ⁷⁰  and need nothing,” but ⁷¹  do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, ⁷²  poor, blind, and naked, 3:18 take my advice ⁷³  and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me ⁷⁴  white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness ⁷⁵  will not be exposed, and buy eye salve ⁷⁶  to put on your eyes so you can see!

[6:24]  ¹ sn Jesus promises condemnation (woe) to those who are callous of others, looking only to their own comforts. On Luke and the rich see 1:53; 12:16; 14:12; 16:1, 21-22; 18:23; 19:2; 21:1. These woes are unique to Luke.

[6:24]  ² sn Ironically the language of reward shows that what the rich have received is all they will get. This result looks at a current situation, just as the start of the beatitudes did. The rest of the conclusions to the woes look to the future at the time of judgment.

[6:24]  ³ tn Grk “your consolation.”

[12:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

[12:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:16]  ⁶ tn Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”

[12:17]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.

[12:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:17]  ⁹ sn I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.

[12:18]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:18]  ¹¹ sn Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.

[12:19]  ¹² tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.

[12:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:21]  ¹⁶ sn It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.

[16:19]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.

[16:20]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

[16:21]  ²² tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.

[16:21]  ²³ tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).

[16:21]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ²⁸ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ³¹ tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

[16:24]  ³⁴ tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

[16:24]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

[16:24]  ³⁸ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

[16:25]  ³⁹ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

[16:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

[18:11]  ⁴¹ tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.

[18:11]  ⁴² sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.

[18:11]  ⁴³ tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).

[18:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].

[18:11]  ⁴⁵ sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).

[18:11]  ⁴⁶ sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.

[18:12]  ⁴⁷ sn The law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement. Such voluntary fasting as this practiced twice a week by the Pharisee normally took place on Monday and Thursday.

[18:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “I tithe.”

[18:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

[18:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

[18:13]  ⁵¹ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

[18:13]  ⁵² tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

[18:14]  ⁵³ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ⁵⁵ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.

[18:24]  ⁵⁶ tc ‡ The phrase περίλυπον γενόμενον (perilupon genomenon, “[When Jesus saw him] becoming sad”) is found in the majority of mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ 078 ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt sy), and it is not unknown in Lukan style to repeat a word or phrase in adjacent passages (TCGNT 143). However, the phrase is lacking in some significant mss (א B L ˹ 579 1241 2542 co). The shorter reading is nevertheless difficult to explain if it is not original: It is possible that these witnesses omitted this phrase out of perceived redundancy from the preceding verse, although intentional omissions, especially by several and varied witnesses, are generally unlikely. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[18:24]  ⁵⁷ sn For the rich it is hard for wealth not to be the point of focus, as the contrast in vv. 28-30 will show, and for rich people to trust God. Wealth was not an automatic sign of blessing as far as Jesus was concerned.

[18:24]  ⁵⁸ 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.

[18:25]  ⁵⁹ sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle, one of the smallest items one might deal with on a regular basis, in contrast to the biggest animal of the region. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus is saying rhetorically that this is impossible, unless God (v. 27) intervenes.

[18:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁶² tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ⁶³ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[4:8]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the things concerning us.”

[2:6]  ⁶⁵ tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.

[5:1]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[5:5]  ⁶⁸ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[5:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”

[3:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “and have become rich.” The semantic domains of the two terms for wealth here, πλούσιος (plousios, adjective) and πλουτέω (ploutew, verb) overlap considerably, but are given slightly different English translations for stylistic reasons.

[3:17]  ⁷¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:17]  ⁷² tn All the terms in this series are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[3:18]  ⁷³ tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”

[3:18]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.

[3:18]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainothti zwh") in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).

[3:18]  ⁷⁶ sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).