In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
Parallel translations
- WEB In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
- KJV And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- NKJV And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- NASB And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms.
- NLT and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
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
In Hades, tormented, the rich man sees Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. The reversal is now complete and conscious.
Overview
The rich man experiences torment and awareness after death, a sobering picture of conscious existence and judgment beyond the grave. He who ignored Lazarus now sees him in comfort. Whatever the precise imagery, Jesus teaches that one's eternal state is fixed by this life and is starkly real.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- Luke 16:28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also end up in this place of torment.’
- Matt 18:9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
- Matt 23:33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
- Ps 9:17The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.
- Rev 14:10–11he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
- Matt 8:11–12I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Isa 14:15But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.
- Matt 5:29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
- Matt 5:22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
- Rev 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
- Rev 20:13–14The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
- Luke 8:28When the man saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, shouting in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You not to torture me!”
- Isa 14:9Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones.
- Matt 11:23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
- Matt 8:29“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- Prov 5:5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.
- Ps 49:15But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
- Prov 15:24The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.
- Luke 13:28–29There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
- Prov 9:18But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
- Prov 7:27Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.
- 1 Cor 15:55“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
- Ps 86:13For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
- Ps 16:10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
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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 16:23 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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