Bible Strands
Luke 16:20
And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus narrates a parable contrasting a wealthy man who feasts daily with a destitute beggar positioned at the man's gate.
The words — πτωχός (ptōchos) literally denotes a beggar or destitute person, while ἐβεβλήτο (ebeblēto) indicates a state of being cast down or laid in a helpless position.
The thread — This depiction of physical affliction and poverty parallels the lame man at the temple gate (Acts 3:2), Job’s boils (Job 2:7), and the theological theme of God choosing the world’s poor (James 2:5).
Why it lands — The text first records a man’s physical desolation and exclusion at a gate, then asks the reader to acknowledge that earthly status holds no inherent value before divine judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Cross-references
- Acts 3:2 And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
- Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- 1 Samuel 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
- Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
- Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
- Luke 16:21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
- James 1:9 The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
- Psalms 73:14 For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.
- Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?