ELL Lesson 73: Luke 16:19-31 — The Rich Man and Lazarus

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Luke 16:19-13 Printable Discussion Questions

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever seen someone who was very rich or very poor? How did it make you feel?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn a story Jesus told about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. We will talk about how God cares about people’s hearts and how the choices we make in this life matter.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

Abraham — A man in the Bible whom God chose to be the father of the Jewish people.
Angel — A special being made by God to serve him and help people.
At His Side — Next to someone or very close to them.
At Least — The smallest amount or something better than nothing.
Bad — Not good; harmful or painful.
Besides All That — In addition to everything already mentioned.
Bits Of Food — Small pieces of food.
Brought — Carried or moved someone or something to a place.
Buried — Placed in the ground after someone dies.
Carried — Took or moved something from one place to another.
Clothes — Things people wear, like shirts, pants, and dresses.
Convinced — Made someone believe something is true.
Cool Off — To make something less hot.
Cross Over — To go from one side to another.
Deep Pit — A big hole in the ground or a large space between two places.
Died — Stopped living.
Dip — To put something into a liquid for a short time.
Door — The part of a building people walk through to go in or out.
Dressed — Wore clothes.
Enjoying — Feeling happy or pleased about something.
Expensive — Costs a lot of money.
Father Abraham — A respectful way to talk about Abraham in the Bible, the ancestor of the Jewish people.
Feast — A big meal with lots of food for a special time.
Fell — Dropped down from a higher place.
Finger — The parts of your hand you use to pick up or touch things.
Fire — Flames that give heat, light, and can burn.
Good — Nice, right, or kind.
Great — Very big or very important.
Hades — A place in the Bible where dead people go, often a place of pain for the wicked.
Heaven — The perfect, forever home of God and his people.
Hoping — Wanting something to happen very much.
House — A building where people live.
Lifetime — The time when someone is alive.
Lick — To touch something with your tongue.
Listen — Pay attention to and hear what someone says.
Looked Up — Lifted the eyes to see higher.
Luxury — A very rich and comfortable way of living.
Moses — A leader in the Bible who gave God’s law to the people.
Most — The biggest amount.
Pain — A bad feeling in your body or heart when something hurts.
Pity — A sad feeling for someone else’s pain or trouble.
Place Of Pain — A terrible, hurting place.
Poor — Not having enough money or things.
Prophets — People in the Bible chosen by God to speak his message.
Remember — To think about something that happened before.
Rich — Having a lot of money or valuable things.
Rise From Death — To come back to life after dying.
Say — To speak words.
Send — To have someone go to a place for you.
Sin — Doing something against God’s rules.
Sit — To rest your body on a chair or the ground.
Sores — Painful, open spots on the skin.
Table — A piece of furniture with a flat top where people eat or work.
Tongue — The part inside your mouth that helps you taste and speak.
Turn From Sins — To stop doing wrong things and choose to follow God.
Want — To wish for or hope to have something.
Warn — To tell someone about danger so they can be safe.
Water — A clear liquid people drink to stay alive.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells a story Jesus shared with people to help them understand how life on earth and life after death are connected. There were two men. One man was very rich. He wore nice clothes and ate good food every day. The other man was very poor. His name was Lazarus, and he had sores on his skin. He sat by the rich man’s door, hoping to get food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even dogs came to lick his sores.

Both men died. The poor man, Lazarus, was taken by angels to be with Abraham, a great man in the Bible, at a happy feast in heaven. The rich man went to a place called Hades, where he was in pain. He looked up and saw Lazarus far away with Abraham. The rich man begged for help, but Abraham told him it was too late. In life, the rich man had many good things while Lazarus had many bad things. Now their places were switched.

The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers. He did not want them to come to the place of pain. But Abraham said they already had the message of Moses and the prophets. If they would not listen to that, they would not listen even if someone rose from the dead.

This passage shows us that God cares about how we live and how we treat others. It teaches that life is short, and what we choose to believe and do is very important to God.

Read The Passage

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.
20-21 There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man’s door, hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
22-23 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, and in Hades, where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side.
24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain.
26 Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’
27-28 The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’
29 Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’
30 The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’
31 But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”
Luke 16:19-31 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions: