Luke 16:21 (KJV)

What does Luke 16:21 mean?

Luke 16:21 portrays Lazarus as a desperately poor and sick man who longs for even the scraps from a rich man’s table. Jesus places Lazarus’s hunger alongside the dogs licking his sores, making his exposed and helpless condition vivid.

After verse 20 places Lazarus at the rich man’s gate, Jesus describes what he hopes to eat. The picture is of food so small or unwanted that it falls from the table, yet Lazarus longs for it.

The Greek behind Luke 16:21

• “desiring” — ἐπιθυμέω (epithymeō): This word can mean to long for something strongly. Here it brings out the intensity of Lazarus’s wish for food.
• “licked” — ἀπολείχω (apoleichō): This word means to lick or lick off. Its form here describes an ongoing or repeated action, adding to the picture of Lazarus lying exposed at the gate.

Why Luke 16:21 matters

• The verse sets the rich man’s plenty against Lazarus’s need. Lazarus longs for what falls from the table, while the rich man has abundant food in verse 19.
• The dogs sharpen the picture of Lazarus’s low place in the scene. For Jesus’ first hearers, dogs were often scavengers rather than household pets, so their presence at his sores would have made his condition more striking.
• Lazarus’s position at the gate makes the contrast immediate. He is near the rich man’s home, not in a distant place, when Jesus describes his hunger and sores.