God’s Word Translation
Luke 16:23
23He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus.
Luke 16:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- New International Version (NIV)In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Context of Luke 16:23
21Lazarus would have eaten any scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was covered with sores, and dogs would lick them. 22“One day the beggar died, and the angels carried him to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus. 24He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’ 25“Abraham replied, ‘Remember, my child, that you had a life filled with good times, while Lazarus’ life was filled with misery. Now he has peace here, while you suffer.
Read all of Luke 16Luke 16:23 word by word
καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὑπάρχων ἐν βασάνοις ὁρᾷ Ἀβραὰμ ἀπὸ μακρόθεν καὶ Λάζαρον ἐν τοῖς κόλποις αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- hellᾍδηςhadēs · hell: HadesG86
- he lift upἐπαίρωepairō · to lift upG1869
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- eyesὀφθαλμόςophthalmos · eyeG3788
- beingὑπάρχωhuparchō · be alreadyG5225
- tormentsβάσανοςbasanos · tormentG931
- and seethὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
- ·ἀπόapo · away fromG575
- afar offμακρόθενmakrothen · from afarG3113
- LazarusΛάζαροςLazaros · LazarusG2976
- bosomκόλποςkolpos · bosomG2859
Cross-references for Luke 16:23
- Psalms 9:17Wicked people, all the nations who forget God, will return to the grave.
- Psalms 16:10because you do not abandon my soul to the grave or allow your holy one to decay.
- Psalms 49:15But God will buy me back from the power of hell because he will take me. Selah
- Psalms 86:13because your mercy toward me is great. You have rescued me from the depths of hell.
- Proverbs 5:5Her feet descend to death. Her steps lead straight to hell.
- Proverbs 7:27Her home is the way to hell and leads to the darkest vaults of death.
- Proverbs 9:18But he does not know that the souls of the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.
- Proverbs 15:24The path of life for a wise person leads upward in order to turn him away from hell below.
- Isaiah 14:9Sheol below wakes up to meet you when you come. It wakes up the ghosts of the dead, all who were leaders on earth. It raises all who were kings of the nations from their thrones.
- Matthew 5:22But I can guarantee that whoever is angry with another believer will answer for it in court. Whoever calls another believer an insulting name will answer for it in the highest court. Whoever calls another believer a fool will answer for it in hellfire.
- Matthew 18:9If your eye causes you to lose your faith, tear 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 hellfire.
- Matthew 23:33“You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell?
- 1 Corinthians 15:55Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”
- 2 Peter 2:4God didn’t spare angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, where he has secured them with chains of darkness and is holding them for judgment.
- Revelation 20:13The sea gave up its dead. Death and hell gave up their dead. People were judged based on what they had done.
- Luke 16:28I have five brothers. He can warn them so that they won’t end up in this place of torture.’
Commentaries on Luke 16:23
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23In hell - The word here translated hell (“Hades”) means literally a dark, obscure place; the place where departed spirits go, but especially the place where “wicked” spirits go. See the Job 10:21-22 notes; Isaiah 14:9 note. The following circumstances are related of it in this parable: 1.It is “far off” from the abodes of the righteous. Lazarus was seen “afar off.” 2.It is a place of torment. 3.There is a great gulf fixed between that and heaven, Luke…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 Here the spiritual things are represented, in a description of the different state of good and bad, in this world and in the other. We are not told that the rich man got his estate by fraud, or oppression; but Christ shows, that a man may have a great deal of the wealth, pomp, and pleasure of this world, yet perish for ever under God's wrath and curse. The sin of this rich man was his providing for himself only. Here is a godly man, and one…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23Hades: This can refer to either the place where all people go when they die, or where the wicked go after death, as in this context.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. in hell--not the final place of the lost (for which another word is used), but as we say "the unseen world." But as the object here is certainly to depict the whole torment of the one and the perfect bliss of the other, it comes in this case to much the same. seeth Abraham--not God, to whom therefore he cannot cry [Bengel].Read the comment
Topics related to Luke 16:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Luke 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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