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NASB | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 16:19 ¶ "Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day. |
Bible Question: Dear Jeff, Thanks for your input. It explained about the rich man and Lazarus. Since this time period was before Christ what did Lazarus have to do in order to be in Abraham's bosom? No sacrifice for sin has been offered? I just wondered if Jesus forgave all the sins of the people before His crucifixion. |
Bible Answer: Dear Tommy, Here is some additional info that may be of help. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this: "16:19-21. Jesus then told the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus to show that being rich should not be equated with being righteous. The rich man had everything he wanted. Purple referred to clothes dyed that color, and fine linen was worn for underclothes; both were expensive. A poor man, a crippled beggar named Lazarus, had nothing. One lived in luxury for himself, the other in abject poverty with hunger and poor health (sores). Perhaps Jesus picked the name Lazarus because it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name which means “God, the Helper.” Lazarus was righteous not because he was poor but because he depended on God. 16:22-23. In the course of time both men died. Lazarus went to Abraham’s side while the rich man . . . was buried and was in hell, a place of conscious torment (vv. 24, 28). Hades, the Greek word often translated “hell,” is used 11 times in the New Testament. The Septuagint used hades to translate the Hebrew sheol (the place of the dead) on 61 occasions. Here hades refers to the abode of the unsaved dead prior to the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). “Abraham’s side” apparently refers to a place of paradise for Old Testament believers at the time of death (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4)." Willmington's Bible Handbook offers this comment: "Many try to dismiss this graphic description of the afterlife as merely a story—saying, for instance, that the “flames” (16:24) are not literal. Some scholars, however, believe the story may be factual, since no other parable names characters. Whether parable or narrative, as the very words of Christ it must be taken seriously. In the OT, Hades (16:23) referred to the place of the dead whether saved or lost (see exposition on Ps. 9); in the NT, the place of the dead who are saved is also called “Abraham’s bosom” (16:23) and “paradise” (23:43)." Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |