The Meaning of Luke 16:25 Explained

Luke 16:25

KJV: But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

YLT: And Abraham said, Child, remember that thou did receive -- thou -- thy good things in thy life, and Lazarus in like manner the evil things, and now he is comforted, and thou art distressed;

Darby: But Abraham said, Child, recollect that thou hast fully received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted here, and thou art in suffering.

ASV: But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted and thou art in anguish.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  Abraham  said,  Son,  remember  that  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil things:  but  now  he is comforted,  and  thou  art tormented. 

What does Luke 16:25 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 16:25

Receivedst [απελαβες]
Second aorist indicative of απολαμβανω — apolambanō old verb to get back what is promised and in full. See also Luke 6:34; Luke 18:30; Luke 23:41. [source]
Evil things [τα κακα]
Not “his,” but “the evil things” that came upon him.Thou art in anguish (οδυνασαι — odunāsai). Like καυχασαι — kauchāsai in Romans 2:17. They contracted -αεσαι — aesai without the loss of s. Common in the Koiné. [source]
Thou art in anguish [οδυνασαι]
Like καυχασαι — kauchāsai in Romans 2:17. They contracted -αεσαι — aesai without the loss of s. Common in the Koiné. [source]
Son [τέκνον]
Lit., child. [source]
Receivedst [ἀπέλαβες]
Received back ( ἀπό ) as a reward or quittance. Compare Luke 6:34; Luke 18:30; Luke 23:41. [source]
Gulf [χάσμα]
From χάσκω ,to yawn. Transcribed into the English chasm. In medical language, of the cavities in a wound or ulcer. [source]
Is fixed [ἐστήρικται]
Compare Luke 22:32; and see on 1 Peter 5:10. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 16:25

Luke 6:24 Consolation [παράκλησις]
From παρά , to the side of, and καλέω , to call or summon. Literally, a calling to one's side to help; and therefore entreaty, passing on into the sense of exhortation, and thence into that of consolatory exhortation; and so coming round to mean that which one is summoned to give to a suppliant - consolation. Thus it embodies the call for help, and the response to the call. Its use corresponds with that of the kindred verb παρακαλέω , to exhort or console. In its original sense of calling for aid the noun appears in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 8:4: with much entreaty. The verb appears frequently in this sense, rendered beseech, pray (Matthew 8:34; Matthew 14:36; Mark 1:40; Mark 5:12, etc.). In the sense of consolation or comfort the noun occurs in Luke 2:25; Luke 6:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4; Philemon 1:7. The verb, in Matthew 2:18; Matthew 5:4:; Luke 16:25; 2 Corinthians 1:4. In some instances, however, the meaning wavers between console and exhort. In the sense of exhortation or counsel, the noun may be found in Acts 13:15; Romans 12:8; Hebrews 13:22. The verb, in Acts 2:40; Acts 11:23; Acts 14:22; Romans 12:8; Titus 2:15. Neither the noun nor the verb appear in the writings of John, but the kindred word παράκλητος the Paraclete, Comforter, or Advocate, is peculiar to him. On this word, see on John 14:16. It should be noted, however, that the word comfort goes deeper than its popular conception of soothing. It is from the later Latin confortare, to make strong. Thus Wycliffe renders Luke 1:80, “the child waxed, and was comforted in spirit” (A. V., waxed strong )and Tyndale, Luke 22:43, “there appeared an angel from heaven comforting him” (A. V., strengthening )The comfort which Christ gives is not always soothing. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is to convince of sin and ofjudgment. Underlying the word is the sense of a wise counsel or admonition which rouses and braces the moral nature and encourages and strengthens it to do and to endure. When, therefore, Christ says “they that mourn shall be comforted,” he speaks in recognition of the fact that all sorrow is the outcome of sin, and that true comfort is given, not only in pardon for the past, but in strength to fight and resist and overcome sin. The atmosphere of the word, in short, is not the atmosphere of the sick-chamber, but the tonic breath of the open world, of moral struggle and victory; the atmosphere for him that climbs and toils and fights. [source]
Luke 22:32 Strengthen [στήρισον]
See on Luke 16:25, and 1 Peter 5:10. Rev., stablish, which is much better. Strengthen may denote only a temporary effect. The word impliesfixedness. [source]
John 1:4 In Him was life [ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν]
He was the fountain of life - physical, moral, and eternal - its principle and source. Two words for life are employed in the New Testament: βίος and ζωὴ . The primary distinction is that ζωὴ means existence as contrasted with death, and βίος , the period, means, or manner of existence. Hence βίος is originally the higher word, being used of men, while ζωὴ is used of animals ( ζῶα ). We speak therefore of the discussion of the life and habits of animals as zoo logy; and of accounts of men's lives as bio graphy. Animals have the vital principle in common with men, but men lead lives controlled by intellect and will, and directed to moral and intellectual ends. In the New Testament, βίος means either living, i.e., means of subsistence (Mark 12:44; Luke 8:43), or course of life, life regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). Ζωὴ occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1 Peter 3:10; Acts 8:33; Acts 17:25; Hebrews 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: “Thou in thy lifetime ( ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου ) receivedst thy good things;” the intimation being that the rich man's life had been little better than mere existence, and not life at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament ζωὴ is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with βίος . It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 11:25; Acts 2:28; Romans 5:17; Romans 6:4), and that not only in respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare John 5:26; John 14:6; 1 John 1:2. This change is due to the gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. “Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled” (Trench). Ζωὴ is a favorite word with John. See John 11:25; John 14:6; John 8:12; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 5:20; John 6:35, John 6:48; John 6:63; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:17; Revelation 7:17; John 4:14; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2, Revelation 22:14, Revelation 22:19; John 12:50; John 17:3; John 20:31; John 5:26; John 6:53, John 6:54; John 5:40; John 3:15, John 3:16, John 3:36; John 10:10; John 5:24; John 12:25; John 6:27; John 4:36; 1 John 5:12, 1 John 5:16; John 6:51.Was the Light of men ( ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων )Passing from the thought of creation in general to that of mankind, who, in the whole range of created things, had a special capacity for receiving the divine. The Light - the peculiar mode of the divine operation upon men, conformably to their rational and moral nature which alone was fitted to receive the light of divine truth. It is not said that the Word was light, but that the life was the light. The Word becomes light through the medium of life, of spiritual life, just as sight is a function of physical life. Compare John 14:6, where Christ becomes the life through being the truth; and Matthew 5:8, where the pure heart is the medium through which God is beheld. In whatever mode of manifestation the Word is in the world, He is the light of the world; in His works, in the dawn of creation; in the happy conditions of Eden; in the Patriarchs, in the Law and the Prophets, in His incarnation, and in the subsequent history of the Church. Compare John 9:5. Of men, as a class, and not of individuals only. [source]
1 Timothy 6:17 Them that are rich in this world [τοῖς πλουσίοις ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι]
Forming one conception. Chrysostom says:; “Rich in this world, for others are rich in the world to come.” Comp. Luke 16:25. Πλουσίος richby Paul only metaphorically. See 2 Corinthians 8:9; Ephesians 2:4. The phrase ὁ νῦν αἰών thenow age, only here and Titus 2:12, the usual expression being ὁ αἰὼν οὗτος thisage or world, which is not found in Pastorals. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 16:25 mean?

Said then Abraham Child remember that you did fully receive the [things] good of you in the lifetime and Lazarus likewise evil Now however here he is comforted you now are suffering
Εἶπεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ Τέκνον μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως κακά νῦν δὲ ὧδε παρακαλεῖται σὺ δὲ ὀδυνᾶσαι

Εἶπεν  Said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Ἀβραάμ  Abraham 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἀβραάμ  
Sense: the son of Terah and the founder of the Jewish nation.
Τέκνον  Child 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Neuter Singular
Root: τέκνον  
Sense: offspring, children.
μνήσθητι  remember 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: μιμνῄσκομαι  
Sense: to remind.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ἀπέλαβες  you  did  fully  receive 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἀπολαμβάνω  
Sense: to receive.
τὰ  the  [things] 
Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀγαθά  good 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ἀγαθός 
Sense: of good constitution or nature.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ζωῇ  lifetime 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ζωή  
Sense: life.
Λάζαρος  Lazarus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Λάζαρος  
Sense: an inhabitant of Bethany, beloved by Christ and raised from the dead by him.
ὁμοίως  likewise 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὁμοίως  
Sense: likewise, equally, in the same way.
κακά  evil 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: κακός  
Sense: of a bad nature.
νῦν  Now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ὧδε  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὧδε  
Sense: here, to this place, etc.
παρακαλεῖται  he  is  comforted 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: παρακαλέω  
Sense: to call to one’s side, call for, summon.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ὀδυνᾶσαι  are  suffering 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ὀδυνάω  
Sense: to cause intense pain.