Go to Related Reading
About this book

Luke

About this book
Chapter 16

1 Jesus also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. 2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. 4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man replied, ‘100 measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write 50.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘100 measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write 80.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.⁠ 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon31,⁠ so that when it runs out, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.⁠ 10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much,⁠ and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?⁠ 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters,⁠ for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”⁠ 14 The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. 15 But Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight. 16 “The law and the prophets were in force until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter in the law to become void. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. 19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.⁠ 20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.⁠ The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.⁠ 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in anguish in this fire.’⁠ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, 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. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’⁠ 27 So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house 28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’ 30 Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 22:9 and Luke 16:26

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Share:

Summary

In Luke, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus describes a great divide between the righteous and the unrighteous after death. This detail follows Jewish apocalyptic traditions, such as 1 Enoch’s vision of chambers for spirits waiting for judgment.

Passages

1 Enoch 22:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
7 And he answered me saying: 'This is the spirit of Abel, whom his brother Cain killed, and he pleads against him until his seed is wiped from the face of the earth, and his descendants are destroyed among the seed of men.' 8 Then I asked about it, and about all the hollow places: 'Why is one separated from the other?' 9 And he answered me and said: 'These three have been made so that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, which includes the bright spring of water. 10 And one has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgment has not been executed on them in their lifetime. 11 Here their spirits shall be kept in great pain until the great day of judgment and punishment and torment of those who are cursed forever, and retribution for their spirits. There they shall be bound forever.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Luke 16:26

New Testament
24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in anguish in this fire.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, 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. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house 28 (for I have five brothers) to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... Go down to the depths ... Literally go down to Hades. “Hades” is the Greek term used to translate Sheol in the LXX. It can refer to the place of the dead (Psalm 89:48), the opposite of heaven (Psalm 139:8; Amos 9:2), or the place of the unrighteous dead (1 Enoch 22:3-13; 63:10; 99:11; 2 Esdras 7:36). It is used in the latter sense in Luke 16:22-26 and probably should be understood in the same way here. Whether in Jesus’ day there was a clear distinction between “Hades” and hell (Gehenna) is much debated but still uncertain. What is clear is that it designates a place of punishment for the unrighteous. The imagery comes from Isaiah 14:13, 15 ..."
Robert H. Stein, The New American Commentary: Luke (Nashville: Broadman, 1992), 307.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

1 Enoch 22:9 and Luke 16:26

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library