And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Parallel translations
- WEB A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,
- BSB And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with 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 certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
- Job 2:7So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
- Jas 2:5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
- Jas 1:9Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
- Isa 1:6From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
- Luke 16:21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
- 1 Sam 2:8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
- Ps 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
- Luke 18:35–43And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
- Jer 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
- Ps 73:14For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
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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
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