And a poor man named Lazarus was laid 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,
- BSB And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
- ESV And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
- NKJV But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
- NLT At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 3:2A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
- Job 2:7So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
- Jas 1:9But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position;
- Isa 1:6From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven’t been closed, neither bandaged, neither soothed with oil.
- Luke 16:21and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
- 1 Sam 2:8He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s. He has set the world on them.
- Ps 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
- Luke 18:35–43As he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.
- Jer 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
- John 11:1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha.
- Ps 73:14For all day long I have been plagued, 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.