And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
Parallel translations
- WEB A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,
- KJV And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
- NKJV But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
- NASB And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
- NLT At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A poor, diseased beggar named Lazarus is laid at the rich man's gate, in stark contrast to his luxury.
Overview
Lazarus, the only named character in Jesus' parables, means 'God has helped.' Covered in sores and destitute, he lies at the very gate of plenty, ignored. The vivid contrast frames the question of how wealth is used toward the needy and what awaits each man beyond death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 3:2And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
- Job 2:7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Jas 1:9The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- Isa 1:6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
- Luke 16:21and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
- 1 Sam 2:8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
- Ps 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- Luke 18:35–43As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging.
- Jer 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
- John 11:1At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
- Ps 73:14For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 16:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.