Luke 16:24-25

16:24 So ¹  he called out, ²  ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus ³  to dip the tip of his finger ⁴  in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish ⁵  in this fire.’ ⁶  16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, ⁷  remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. ⁸ 

Luke 16:29-31

16:29 But Abraham said, ⁹  ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to ¹⁰  them.’ 16:30 Then ¹¹  the rich man ¹²  said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead ¹³  goes to them, they will repent.’ 16:31 He ¹⁴  replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to ¹⁵  Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” ¹⁶ 

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¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous actions in the narrative.

² tn Grk “calling out he said”; this is redundant in contemporary English style and has been simplified to “he called out.”

³ sn The rich man had not helped Lazarus before, when he lay outside his gate (v. 2), but he knew him well enough to know his name. This is why the use of the name Lazarus in the parable is significant. (The rich man’s name, on the other hand, is not mentioned, because it is not significant for the point of the story.)

⁴ sn The dipping of the tip of his finger in water is evocative of thirst. The thirsty are in need of God’s presence (Ps 42:1-2; Isa 5:13). The imagery suggests the rich man is now separated from the presence of God.

⁵ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92).

⁶ sn Fire in this context is OT imagery; see Isa 66:24.

⁷ tn The Greek term here is τέκνον (teknon), which could be understood as a term of endearment.

⁸ tn Or “in terrible pain” (L&N 24.92). Here is the reversal Jesus mentioned in Luke 6:20-26.

⁹ tn Grk “says.” This is one of the few times Luke uses the historical present.

¹⁰ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” This recalls the many OT texts calling for a righteous heart to respond to people in need (Deut 14:28-29; Isa 3:14-15; Amos 2:6-8; Mic 2:1-2; Zech 7:9-10).

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ sn If someone from the dead goes to them. The irony and joy of the story is that what is denied the rich man’s brothers, a word of warning from beyond the grave, is given to the reader of the Gospel in this exchange.

¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁵ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” See the note on the phrase “respond to” in v. 29.

¹⁶ sn The concluding statement of the parable, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead, provides a hint that even Jesus’ resurrection will not help some to respond. The message of God should be good enough. Scripture is the sign to be heeded.