an's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also
died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water,
and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 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. And beside all this, between
us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would
pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that
would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I
have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they
also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him,
They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he
said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the
dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though
one rose from the dead."[975]

The afflicted beggar is honored with a name; the other is designated
simply as "a certain rich man."[976] The two are presented as the
extremes of contrast between wealth and destitution. The rich man was
clothed in the costliest attire, purple and fine linen; and his
every-day fare was a sumptuous feast. Lazarus had been brought to the
gates of the rich man's palace, and there left, a helpless mendicant,
his body covered with sores. The rich man was attended by servitors
ready to gratify his slightest desire; the poor beggar at his gates had
neither companions nor attendants except the dogs, which like himself
waited for the refuse from the rich man's table. Such is the picture of
the two in life. An abrupt change of scene brings into view the same two
on the far side of the veil that hangs between the here and the
hereafter. Lazarus died; no mention is made of his funeral; his
festering body was probably thrown into a pauper's grave; but angels
bore his immortal spirit into Paradise, the resting place of the blessed
and commonly