Luke 16:23
New International Version
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

New Living Translation
and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

English Standard Version
and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

Berean Standard Bible
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

Berean Literal Bible
And in Hades, having lifted up his eyes, being in torment, he sees Abraham from afar, and Lazarus in his bosom.

King James Bible
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

New King James Version
And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

New American Standard Bible
And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms.

NASB 1995
“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

NASB 1977
“And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Legacy Standard Bible
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

Amplified Bible
In Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise).

Christian Standard Bible
And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.

American Standard Version
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“And suffering in Sheol, he lifted up his eyes from afar off and he saw Abraham, and Lazar in his bosom.”

Contemporary English Version
He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom:

English Revised Version
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
He went to hell, where he was constantly tortured. As he looked up, in the distance he saw Abraham and Lazarus.

Good News Translation
and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side.

International Standard Version
In the afterlife, where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side.

Literal Standard Version
and having lifted up his eyes in Hades, being in torments, he sees Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom,

Majority Standard Bible
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

New American Bible
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

NET Bible
And in hell, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.

New Revised Standard Version
In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.

New Heart English Bible
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

Webster's Bible Translation
And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Weymouth New Testament
And in Hades, being in torment, he looked and saw Abraham in the far distance, and Lazarus resting in his arms.

World English Bible
In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.

Young's Literal Translation
and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Rich Man and Lazarus
22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’…

Cross References
Matthew 11:23
And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

Luke 16:24
So he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.'


Treasury of Scripture

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

in hell.

Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Psalm 16:10
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Psalm 49:15
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

being.

Luke 16:28
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

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.

Matthew 8:29
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

seeth.

Luke 13:28,29
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out…

Matthew 8:11,12
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven…

Jump to Previous
Abraham Afar Arms Bosom Breast Distance Eyes Far Great Hades Hell Laz'arus Lifted Pain Resting Side Torment Torments
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Abraham Afar Arms Bosom Breast Distance Eyes Far Great Hades Hell Laz'arus Lifted Pain Resting Side Torment Torments
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.














(23) And in hell.--The Greek word is Hades, not Gehenna; the unseen world of the dead, not the final prison of the souls of the lost. (See Note on Matthew 5:22.) It lies almost on the surface of the parable that it describes an earlier stage of the life after death than that in Matthew 25:31-46. There is no mention here of the Advent of the Judge. As far as the parable itself is concerned, there is nothing to exclude the thought that the torments might have in part the character of a discipline as well as of retribution.

In torments.--The Greek word was applied originally to the test or touchstone of metals, then to the torture to which men had recourse as the one sure test of the veracity of witnesses, than to torments generally. The nature of the "torments" here is suggested by the "flame" of the next verse, but that word has to be taken with all its symbolic associations, and does not necessarily imply the material element of fire. (See Notes on Mark 9:43-49.) What is meant is that there shall be for the soul of the evil-doer, when brought face to face with that holiness of God which is as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), an anguish as intolerable as the touch of earthly flame is to the nerves of the mortal body. The thought is expressed with great beauty in Dr. Newman's Dream of Gerontius:--

"And these two pains, so counter and so keen,--

The longing for Him, when thou seest Him not; . . .

Verse 23. - And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments; more accurately, in Hades (the unseen world of the dead) he lift up his eyes. The idea of suffering does not lie in these first words, but in the participle "being in torments," which immediately follows. It is noticeable that, in this Divine picture of unhappy life in the other world there is no coarse, vulgar word-painting such as we meet with so often in mediaeval human works. The very fact of the man's being unhappy is gently represented. The graver aspect of the torments we learn from the hapless one's own words. Still, it is all very awful, though the facts are so gently told us. "Being in torments:" How could it be otherwise for such a one as Dives? The home of the loving, where Abraham was, would be no home for that selfish man who had never really loved or cared for any one save himself. What were the torments? men with hushed voices ask. A little further on the doomed one speaks of a flame and of his tongue apparently burning, owing to the scorching heat; but it would be a mistake to think of a material flame being intended here. There is nothing in the description of the situation to suggest this; it is rather the burning never to be satisfied, longing for something utterly beyond his reach, that the unhappy man describes as an inextinguishable flame. Were it desirable to dwell on these torments, we should remind men how lustful desires change rapidly into torture for the soul when the means for gratifying them exist not. In the case of Dives, his delight on earth seems to have been society, pleasant jovial company, the being surrounded by a crowd of admiring friends, the daily banquet, the gorgeous apparel, the stately house, - these details more than hint at the pleasure he found in the society of courtier-friends; but in the other world he seems to have been quite alone. Whereas among the blessed there appears to be a sweet companionship. Lazarus is in the company of Abraham, who, of course, only represents a great and goodly gathering. "Abraham's bosom" is simply the well-known expression for that feast or banquet of the happy souls judged worthy of an entrance into Paradise. But in that place where the rich man lifted up his eyes there seems a strange and awful solitariness. A total absence of everything, even of external causes of trouble, is very noticeable. He was alone; alone with his thoughts. And seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
In
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

Hades,
ᾅδῃ (hadē)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

where he was
ὑπάρχων (hyparchōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5225: To begin, am, exist, be in possession. From hupo and archomai; to begin under, i.e. Come into existence; expletively, to exist (verb).

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

torment,
βασάνοις (basanois)
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 931: Torture, torment, examination by torture. Perhaps remotely from the same as basis; a touch-stone, i.e. torture.

he looked up
ἐπάρας (eparas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1869: To raise, lift up. From epi and airo; to raise up.

[and] saw
ὁρᾷ (hora)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

Abraham
Ἀβραὰμ (Abraam)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.

from
ἀπὸ (apo)
Preposition
Strong's 575: From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses.

afar,
μακρόθεν (makrothen)
Adverb
Strong's 3113: From a (long) distance, afar. Adverb from makros; from a distance or afar.

with
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Lazarus
Λάζαρον (Lazaron)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2976: Probably of Hebrew origin; Lazarus, the name of two Israelites.

by
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

side.
κόλποις (kolpois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2859: Apparently a primary word; the bosom; by analogy, a bay.


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NT Gospels: Luke 16:23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes (Luke Lu Lk)
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