Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke 16:23 in other translations
| BSB | In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. |
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| WEB | In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. |
| ASV | And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. |
| YLT | and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, |
| DARBY | And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. |
| BBE | And in hell, being in great pain, lifting up his eyes he saw Abraham, far away, and Lazarus on his breast. |
| Webster | And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. |
What does Luke 16:23 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Barnes' Notes
1st. It is far off from the abodes of the righteous. Lazarus was seen afar off.
2nd. It is a place of torment.
3rd. There is a great gulf fixed between that and heaven, Lk 16:26.
4th. The suffering is great. It is represented by torment in a flame, Lk 16:24.
5th. There will be no escape from it, Lk 16:26. The word hell here means, therefore, that dark, obscure, and miserable place, far from heaven, where the wicked shall be punished for ever.
He lifted up his eyes. A phrase in common use among the Hebrews, meaning he looked, Gen 13:10, 18:2, 31:10, Dan 8:3, Lk 6:20.
Being in torment. The word torment means pain, anguish (Mt 4:24); particularly the pain inflicted by the ancients in order to induce men to make confession of their crimes. These torments or tortures were the keenest that they could inflict, such as the rack, or scourging, or burning; and the use of the word here denotes that the sufferings of the wicked can be represented only by the extremest forms of human suffering.
And seeth Abraham, &c. This was an aggravation of his misery. One of the first things that occurred in hell was to look up, and see the poor man that lay at his gate completely happy. What a contrast! Just now he was rolling in wealth, and the poor man was at his gate. He had no expectation of these sufferings' now they have come upon him, and Lazarus is happy and for ever fixed in the paradise of God. It is more, perhaps, than we are authorized to infer, that the wicked will see those who are in paradise. That they will know that they are there is certain; but we are not to suppose that they will be so near together as to be seen, or as to make conversation possible. These circumstances mean that there will be a separation, and that the wicked in hell will be conscious that the righteous, though on earth they were poor or despised, will be in heaven. Heaven and hell will be far from each other, and it will be no small part of the misery of the one that it is far and for ever removed from the other.
(r) "tormented" Rev 14:10,11.
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Luke 16:19-31
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…
Luke 16:23 in the original Greek
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Cross references for Luke 16:23
- 2 Peter 2:4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
- Luke 16:28
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
- Matthew 23:33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
- Matthew 18:9
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
- Revelation 14:10-11
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
- Psalms 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Matthew 5:29
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
- Isaiah 14:9
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
- Matthew 5:22
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
- Isaiah 14:15
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
- Luke 8:28
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
- Revelation 20:13-14
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Luke 16:22
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
- Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- Luke 16:24
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luke 16:23 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y en el infierno alzó sus ojos, estando en los tormentos, y vió á Abraham de lejos, y á Lázaro en su seno. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et, en hadès, levant ses yeux, comme il était dans les tourments, il voit de loin Abraham, et Lazare dans son sein. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und in dem Hades seine Augen aufschlagend, als er in Qualen war, sieht er Abraham von ferne und Lazarus in seinem Schoße. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Elevans autem oculos suos, cum esset in tormentis, vidit Abraham a longe, et Lazarum in sinu ejus: |