The Meaning of Luke 16:20 Explained

Luke 16:20

KJV: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

YLT: and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores,

Darby: And there was a poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his gateway full of sores,

ASV: and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  there was  a certain  beggar  named  Lazarus,  which  was laid  at  his  gate,  full of sores, 

What does Luke 16:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 16:14-31 - A Look Into The Future
Here was a flagrant case of heartless indifference, amid luxuries of every kind, to the daily spectacle of abject need. Most of us have at least one Lazarus at the gates of our life. The charge against the rich man was, not that he had injured Lazarus, but that he had not helped him. Man condemns us for doing wrong, God for failing to do right.
Lazarus was translated to the realm of blessedness-the bosom of Abraham bespeaking nearness to him at the great feast-not because he had been so poor and miserable, but because, beggar though he was, he possessed the faith of heart and the purity of motive that characterized his great ancestor.
Notice that memory plays a conspicuous part in the sorrow of Gehenna; that Christ gives no hope of changing the soul's habitation; and that we have in the Scripture a more certain agent of spiritual renewal than would be provided by even the apparition of the dead. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 16

1  The parable of the unjust steward
14  Jesus reproves the hypocrisy of the covetous Pharisees
19  The parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar

Greek Commentary for Luke 16:20

Beggar [πτωχος]
Original meaning of this old word. See note on Matthew 5:3. The name Lazarus is from Eleazaros “God a help,” and was a common one. [source]
Lazar []
in English means one afflicted with a pestilential disease.Was laid (ebeblēto). Past perfect passive of the common verb Ελεαζαρος — ballō He had been flung there and was still there, “as if contemptuous roughness is implied” (Plummer).At his gate Right in front of the large portico or gateway, not necessarily a part of the grand house, porch in Matthew 26:71.Full of sores (βαλλω — heilkōmenos). Perfect passive participle of προς τον πυλωνα αυτου — helkoō to make sore, to ulcerate, from ειλκωμενος — helkos ulcer (Latin ulcus). See use of ελκοω — helkos in Luke 16:21. Common in Hippocrates and other medical writers. Here only in the N.T. [source]
Was laid [ebeblēto)]
Past perfect passive of the common verb Ελεαζαρος — ballō He had been flung there and was still there, “as if contemptuous roughness is implied” (Plummer). [source]
At his gate [εβεβλητο]
Right in front of the large portico or gateway, not necessarily a part of the grand house, porch in Matthew 26:71.Full of sores (βαλλω — heilkōmenos). Perfect passive participle of προς τον πυλωνα αυτου — helkoō to make sore, to ulcerate, from ειλκωμενος — helkos ulcer (Latin ulcus). See use of ελκοω — helkos in Luke 16:21. Common in Hippocrates and other medical writers. Here only in the N.T. [source]
Full of sores [βαλλω]
Perfect passive participle of προς τον πυλωνα αυτου — helkoō to make sore, to ulcerate, from ειλκωμενος — helkos ulcer (Latin ulcus). See use of ελκοω — helkos in Luke 16:21. Common in Hippocrates and other medical writers. Here only in the N.T. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 16:20

Matthew 5:3 The poor [οἱ πρωχιὸ]
Three words expressing poverty are found in the New Testament. Two of them, πὲνης and πενιχρός , are kindred terms, the latter being merely a poetic form of the other, and neither of these occurs more than once (Luke 21:2; 2 Corinthians 9:9). The word used in this verse is therefore the current word for poor, occurring thirty-four times, and covering every gradation of want; so that it is evident that the New Testament writers did not recognize any nice distinctions of meaning which called for the use of other terms. Luke, for instance (Luke 21:2, Luke 21:3), calls the widow who bestowed her two mites both πενιχρὰν and πρωχὴ . Nevertheless, there is a distinction, recognized by both classical and ecclesiastical writers. While ὁ πένης is of narrow means, one who “earns a scanty pittance,” πρωχός is allied to the verb πτώσσειν , to crouch or cringe, and therefore conveys the idea of utter destitution, which abjectly solicits and lives by alms. Hence it is applied to Lazarus (Luke 16:20, Luke 16:22), and rendered beggar. Thus distinguished, it is very graphic and appropriate here, as denoting the utter spiritual destitution, the consciousness of which precedes the entrance into the kingdom of God, and which cannot be relieved by one's own efforts, but only by the free mercy of God. (See on 2 Corinthians 6:10; and see 2 Corinthians 8:9.) [source]
John 5:7 Put [βάλῃ]
Literally, cast; indicating the hasty movement required to bring him to the water before its agitation should have ceased. See on Mark 7:30; see on Luke 16:20. [source]
John 11:1 Lazarus []
See on Luke 16:20. [source]
John 11:1 Was sick [ην αστενων]
Periphrastic imperfect active of αστενεω — astheneō old verb (from αστενης — asthenēs α — a privative, and στενος — sthenos strength). Lazarus See note on Luke 16:20 for the name of another man in the parable, a shortened form of Eleazer, only other N.T. use, but in Josephus and rabbinical writings. No connexion between this Lazarus and the one in the parable. Of Bethany Use of apo as in John 1:44 Philip of Bethsaida and John 1:45 Joseph of Nazareth. This Bethany is about two miles (John 11:18) east of Jerusalem on the south-east slope of Olivet and is now called El Azariyeh, from the name Lazarus. Jesus is still apparently at the other Bethany beyond Jordan (John 10:40). It is doubtful if a distinction is meant here by απο ητανιας — apo and απο — ek between Bethany as the residence and some other village Note εκ της κωμης — Marthas not Μαριας και Μαρτας — Marthēs for the genitive. Elsewhere (John 11:19; Luke 10:38) Martha comes first as the mistress and hostess. The two sisters are named for further identification of Lazarus. Martha was apparently the elder sister (John 11:5, John 11:19; Luke 10:38.). “The identification of Mary with Mary Magdalene is a mere conjecture supported by no direct evidence, and opposed to the general tenor of the Gospels” (Westcott). [source]
John 5:7 When the water is troubled [οταν ταραχτηι το υδωρ]
Indefinite temporal clause with οταν — hotan and the first aorist passive subjunctive of ταρασσω — tarassō old verb to agitate (Matthew 2:3). The popular belief was that, at each outflow of this intermittent spring, there was healing power in the water for the first one getting in. To put me into the pool Final use of ινα — hina and the second aorist active subjunctive of βαλλω — ballō “that he throw me in” quickly before any one else. For this use of βαλλω — ballō see Mark 7:30; Luke 16:20. But while I am coming Temporal use of the relative, “in which time” Εγω — Egō (I) is emphatic. [source]
Revelation 21:12 Gates [πυλῶνας]
Properly large gates. See on Luke 16:20; see on Acts 12:13. Compare Ezekiel 48:30sqq. [source]
Revelation 16:2 Sore [ἕλκος]
See on Luke 16:20. Compare the sixth Egyptian plague, Exodus 9:8-12, where the Septuagint uses this word ἕλκος boilAlso of the boil or scab of leprosy, Leviticus 13:18; king Hezekiah's boil, 2 Kings 20:7; the botch of Egypt, Deuteronomy 28:27, Deuteronomy 28:35. In Job 2:7(Sept.) the boils are described as here by πονηρός sorei0. [source]
Revelation 21:12 Having a wall great and high [εχουσα τειχος μεγα και υπσηλον]
John returns, after the parenthesis in Revelation 21:11, to the structure in Revelation 21:10, only to use the accusative εχουσαν — echousan as before to agree with πολιν — polin but the nominative εχουσα — echousa as again with “twelve gates” Πυλων — Pulōn is an old word (from πυλη — pulē gate) for a large gate as in Luke 16:20 and six times in Rev for the gate tower of a city wall (Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:13, Revelation 21:15, Revelation 21:21, Revelation 21:25; Revelation 22:14) as in 1 Kings 17:10; Acts 14:13. See Ezekiel 48:31. for these twelve gates, one for each tribe (cf. Revelation 7:1-8). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 16:20 mean?

A poor man now certain named Lazarus was laid at the gate of him being full of sores
πτωχὸς δέ τις ὀνόματι Λάζαρος ἐβέβλητο πρὸς τὸν πυλῶνα αὐτοῦ εἱλκωμένος

πτωχὸς  A  poor  man 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: πτωχός  
Sense: reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms.
δέ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
τις  certain 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
ὀνόματι  named 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄνομα  
Sense: name: univ.
Λάζαρος  Lazarus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Λάζαρος  
Sense: an inhabitant of Bethany, beloved by Christ and raised from the dead by him.
ἐβέβλητο  was  laid 
Parse: Verb, Pluperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: βάλλω 
Sense: to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls.
πρὸς  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: πρός  
Sense: to the advantage of.
πυλῶνα  gate 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: πυλών  
Sense: a large gate: of a palace.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
εἱλκωμένος  being  full  of  sores 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἑλκόω  
Sense: to make sore, cause to ulcerate.