16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple 5 and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously 6 every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay 7 a poor man named Lazarus 8 whose body was covered with sores, 9 16:21 who longed to eat 10 what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs 11 came and licked 12 his sores.
16:22 “Now 13 the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. 14 The 15 rich man also died and was buried. 16
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the reports the man received about his manager.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn Although phrased as a question, the charges were believed by the owner, as his dismissal of the manager implies.
4 tn Or “stewardship”; the Greek word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is cognate with the noun for the manager (οἰκονόμος, oikonomo").
5 sn Purple describes a fine, expensive dye used on luxurious clothing, and by metonymy, refers to clothing colored with that dye. It pictures someone of great wealth.
6 tn Or “celebrated with ostentation” (L&N 88.255), that is, with showing off. Here was the original conspicuous consumer.
7 tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).
8 sn This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.
9 tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).
10 tn Grk “to eat his fill,” but this phrase has been simplified as “to eat” for stylistic reasons.
11 tn The term κύνες (kunes) refers to “wild” dogs (either “street” dogs or watchdogs), not house pets (L&N 4.34).
12 sn When the dogs came and licked his sores it meant that he was unclean. See the negative image of Rev 22:15 that draws on this picture.
13 tn Grk “Now it happened that the.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
14 tn Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).
15 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.