New Testament · Gospel

Luke 16:21

Money and Eternity

and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. Luke 16:21 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Luke 16:21, in plain English

Lazarus just wants the scraps from the rich man's table. Even the dogs come and lick his wounds — they show more compassion than the man inside.

Why it's here

The contrast is gut-wrenching: one man feasts lavishly every day while another lies starving at his door. And the rich man does nothing.

Who's speaking

Luke describes the scene with details that break your heart and challenge your conscience.

Where it sits in the story

Dogs lick his sores. That's the only care Lazarus receives. The man inside the gate has everything and shares nothing.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Lazarus longs for 'crumbs' (tōn piptontōn) from the rich man's table — scraps of bread used as napkins then discarded. The dogs licking his sores adds to his misery, as dogs were considered unclean animals.

Language and setting

The detail about dogs (kunes) intensifies Lazarus's degradation — he receives more attention from unclean animals than from the rich man. The irony is that even scraps would satisfy him.

Voice

Luke narrates Lazarus's desperate condition, emphasizing the extreme contrast between his hunger and the rich man's excess.

Significance

Lazarus wants nothing more than the table scraps — the bread used as napkins then thrown on the floor. Even the dogs show him more attention than the rich man does.

In context

Luke 16:19–23

19Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

20And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

21and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.

23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

Read all of Luke 16 — A shrewd manager, a rich man in torment, and Lazarus at his gate. Jesus draws a straight line between how you handle money and where you end up.

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