The Rich Man and Lazarus: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 16:19-31

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it.

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Luke 16:19-13 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 16:19-13 Printable ERV Passage

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 Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

angel: (noun) A messenger from heaven who serves God.
bury: (verb) To put a dead body in the ground.
change their lives: (phrase) To stop doing wrong things and start living in a way that obeys God.
comfort: (verb) To help someone feel better when they are sad.
from the dead: (phrase) Describing someone who was dead but has come back to life.
mercy: (noun) Kindness and forgiveness shown to someone who deserves punishment.
pit: (noun) A deep hole in the ground.
scrap: (noun) A small piece of something like food or cloth.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
warn: (verb) To tell someone about a danger that is coming.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

angel: (noun) A messenger from heaven who serves God.
bury: (verb) To put a dead body in the ground.
change their lives: (phrase) To stop doing wrong things and start living in a way that obeys God.
comfort: (verb) To help someone feel better when they are sad.
cross over: (verb) To move from one side of a place to the other side.
death: (noun) The end of a life.
decide: (verb) To make a choice.
dip: (verb) To put something into a liquid for a short time.
enjoy: (verb) To feel happy when you do something.
far away: (adverb) At a great distance from a person or a place.
finest: (adjective) The very best.
from the dead: (phrase) Describing someone who was dead but has come back to life.
gate: (noun) A door in a fence or a wall.
mercy: (noun) Kindness and forgiveness shown to someone who deserves punishment.
pain: (noun) An unpleasant feeling in the body.
pit: (noun) A deep hole in the ground.
scrap: (noun) A small piece of something like food or cloth.
sore: (adjective) Feeling pain in a part of the body.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
warn: (verb) To tell someone about a danger that is coming.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

able: (adjective) Having the power or skill to do something.
Abraham: (noun) The first father of the people of Israel who trusted God.
always: (adverb) Every time or at all times.
angel: (noun) A messenger from heaven who serves God.
arm: (noun) The part of the body from the shoulder to the hand.
best: (adjective) Better than all the others.
between: (preposition) In the space that separates two things.
body: (noun) The whole physical part of a person or animal.
bury: (verb) To put a dead body in the ground.
call: (verb) To speak a name to get someone’s attention.
change their lives: (phrase) To stop doing wrong things and start living in a way that obeys God.
clothes: (noun) Things that people wear to cover their bodies.
come back: (phrase) To return to a place after being away.
comfort: (verb) To help someone feel better when they are sad.
cool: (adjective) A little bit cold.
could: (verb) To have been able to do something.
cover: (verb) To be spread over the surface of something.
cross over: (phrase) To move from one side of a place to the other side.
death: (noun) The end of a life.
decide: (verb) To make a choice.
died: (verb) To have stopped living.
dip: (verb) To put something into a liquid for a short time.
dog: (noun) An animal with four legs that people keep as a pet.
dress: (verb) To put clothes on.
earth: (noun) The world where we live.
enjoy: (verb) To feel happy when you do something.
every: (adjective) All the people or things in a group.
far away: (phrase) At a great distance from a person or a place.
father Abraham: (phrase) A name used for Abraham to show he is the great-grandfather of the Jewish people.
finest: (adjective) The very best.
finger: (noun) One of the five parts at the end of your hand.
fire: (noun) The heat and light from something burning.
floor: (noun) The part of a room that you walk on.
from the dead: (phrase) Describing someone who was dead but has come back to life.
gate: (noun) A door in a fence or a wall.
great: (adjective) Very large or very good.
help: (verb) To do something useful for someone.
house: (noun) A building where people live.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
later: (adverb) At a time in the future.
Law of Moses: (phrase) The rules that God gave to the people of Israel through a man named Moses.
Lazarus: (noun) A poor man in a story Jesus told.
left on: (phrase) Staying in a place or on a surface.
let: (verb) To allow something to happen.
lick: (verb) To move the tongue across something.
life: (noun) The state of being alive.
listen: (verb) To pay attention to a sound with your ears.
mercy: (noun) Kindness and forgiveness shown to someone who deserves punishment.
Moses: (noun) A great leader of Israel who lived long before Jesus.
named: (adjective) Having a specific name.
nothing: (pronoun) Not anything.
often: (adverb) Happening many times.
only: (adverb) A word used to show that no other person or thing is included.
pain: (noun) An unpleasant feeling in the body.
pit: (noun) A deep hole in the ground.
place: (noun) A specific area, room, or location.
please: (adverb) A polite word used when asking for something.
poor: (adjective) Having very little money or things.
problem: (noun) Something that is hard to deal with.
prophet: (noun) A person who speaks messages from God.
put: (verb) To move something to a specific place.
read: (verb) To look at words and understand them.
remember: (verb) To keep something in your mind.
rich: (adjective) Having a lot of money or things.
scrap: (noun) A small piece of something like food or cloth.
send: (verb) To cause someone or something to go to a place.
sent: (verb) To have caused someone to go to a place.
sore: (adjective) Feeling pain in a part of the body.
suffer: (verb) To feel great physical or mental pain.
table: (noun) A piece of furniture with a flat top used for eating or working.
tongue: (noun) The part inside the mouth used for tasting and speaking.
took: (verb) To have carried or moved something from one place to another.
under: (preposition) Below something.
warn: (verb) To tell someone about a danger that is coming.
writings: (noun) Things that have been written down.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells a story Jesus shared to help people understand how life on earth and life after death are connected. There were two men. One man was very rich. He wore the finest clothes and ate the best food every day. The other man was very poor. His name was Lazarus, and his body was covered with sores. A sore is a place on the skin that hurts. He sat by the rich man’s gate, hoping to eat the scraps of food that fell under the table. Even dogs came to lick his sores.

Both men died. The poor man, Lazarus, was taken by angels to be with Abraham. Abraham was a great father of faith from long ago. They were at a happy feast in heaven.

The rich man was buried, but he went to a place of death. We think of this place as hell. He was in great pain. He looked up and saw Lazarus far away with Abraham. The rich man called out and asked for mercy. He wanted Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool his tongue because he was suffering in a fire.

Abraham told him it was too late. In life, the rich man had many good things while Lazarus had many bad things. Now, Lazarus was being comforted. Also, there is a big pit between them. A pit is a deep hole in the ground. No one could cross over to help.

The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers. He did not want them to suffer in that place of pain. Abraham said they already had the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to read. He said that if the brothers would not listen to God’s word, they would not listen even if someone came back from the dead.

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

Read The Passage

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

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 Jesus said,
“There was a rich man who always dressed in the finest clothes.
He was so rich that he was able to enjoy all the best things every day.
20 There was also a very poor man named Lazarus.
Lazarus’ body was covered with sores.
He was often put by the rich man’s gate.
21 Lazarus wanted only to eat the scraps of food left on the floor under the rich man’s table.
And the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “Later, Lazarus died.
The angels took him and placed him in the arms of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried.
23 He was sent to the place of death and was in great pain.
He saw Abraham far away with Lazarus in his arms.
24 He called,
‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me!
Send Lazarus to me so that he can dip his finger in water and cool my tongue.
I am suffering in this fire!’
25 “But Abraham said,
‘My child, remember when you lived?
You had all the good things in life.
But Lazarus had nothing but problems.
Now he is comforted here, and you are suffering.
26 Also, there is a big pit between you and us.
No one can cross over to help you, and no one can come here from there.’
27 “The rich man said,
‘Then please, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house on earth.
28 I have five brothers.
He could warn my brothers so that they will not come to this place of pain.’
29 “But Abraham said,
‘They have the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to read; let them learn from that.’
30 “The rich man said,
‘No, father Abraham!
But if someone came to them from the dead, then they would decide to change their lives.’
31 “But Abraham said to him,
‘If your brothers won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to someone who comes back from the dead.’”
Luke 16:19-31 (ERV)