Luke 16:23

23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

Luke 16:23 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
English Standard Version (ESV)
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
The Message Bible (MSG)
23 In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap.
American Standard Version (ASV)
23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
23 He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
23 In hell, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. Lazarus was by his side.

Luke 16:23 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 16:23

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments
Which may design the place of torment, and the miserable state the Scribes and Pharisees, as all wicked men, enter immediately into upon death, ( Psalms 9:17 ) who in their lifetime were blind, and are called blind guides, blind watchmen, blind leaders of the blind, and who were given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart; but in hell their eyes are opened, and they see their mistakes about the Messiah, and find themselves in torments, under dreadful gnawings, and remorse of conscience; and having a terrible sensation of divine wrath, their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched: or this may regard the vengeance of God on the Jews, at the destruction of Jerusalem; when a fire was kindled against their land, and burned to the lowest hell; and consumed the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains; and the whole land became brimstone, salt, and burning; and they were rooted out of it in anger, wrath, and great indignation; see ( Deuteronomy 29:23 Deuteronomy 29:27 Deuteronomy 29:28 ) ( 32:22 ) or rather, the dreadful calamities which came upon them in the times of Adrian at Bither; when their false Messiah Bar Cochab was taken and slain, and such multitudes of them were destroyed in the most miserable manner F26, when that people, who before had their eyes darkened, and a spirit of slumber and stupidity fallen upon them, in those calamities began to be under some convictions:

and seeth Abraham afar off:
the covenant of circumcision given to him, and to them his natural seed, now of no use to them; their descent from him, of which they boasted, and in which they trusted, now of no avail; and him in the kingdom of heaven, and themselves thrust out; see ( Luke 13:28 ) .

And Lazarus in his bosom;
they now found the Messiah was come, and was gone to heaven, whither they could not come, ( John 7:33 John 7:34 ) . The Jews are convinced that the Messiah is born, though not revealed; and they sometimes confess, that he was born the same day Jerusalem was destroyed; and sometimes they say, he sits at the gates of Rome among the lepers, and at other times, that he is in the walks of paradise {a}. This is said in agreement with the notions of the Jews, that wicked men will see the righteous in happiness, and themselves in torment; by which the latter will be aggravated, to which the allusion is; for they say F2,

``the gates of paradise are fixed over against the gates of hell, so that they can see the righteous in rest, and themselves in distress.''


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. col. 372.
F1 Synagog. Jud. c. 50. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 98. 1. Aben Ezra in Cant. vii. 5. T. Hieros Beracot, fol. 5. 1.
F2 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 125. 3.

Luke 16:23 In-Context

21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
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