A certain rich man dressed in purple, linen fine,

Feasted every day as though abundance drew the line.

At his gate lay Lazarus, full of sores and craving crumbs,

And dogs came near and licked the sores that covered him.

One man had a table spread, one waited at the door,

Their lives stood side by side until they breathed no more.

The beggar died and angels carried him to Abraham's side,

The rich man also died, was buried, and the scene was turned with time.

In torment he looked upward and saw Lazarus far away,

And begged that one small drop of water cool his tongue that day.

But Abraham recalled the lives already lived before:

The rich man had good things; Lazarus evil at the door.

Now one was comforted, the other anguished where he stayed,

And more than changed condition stood between them like a blade.

A great gulf fixed,

No passage spans the space.

A great gulf fixed,

No traveler can change place.

The gate once stood between two men

While both still drew their breath;

Now distance stands that cannot bend,

A boundary after death.

The rich man begged that Lazarus be sent to warn his home,

Five brothers still were living where the old familiar roads were known.

But Abraham said Moses and the prophets had been heard,

Let the brothers listen now to what was written in the word.

The rich man pressed the plea: a dead man risen would persuade,

But Abraham answered hearts unmoved by Scripture would not change.

The gate once stood between them

While mercy still could cross.

The rich man saw the beggar there

Before both lives were lost.

Now Moses and the prophets speak

While living ears can hear;

The warning stands before the gulf,

Not after death draws near.

A great gulf fixed,

No passage spans the space.

A great gulf fixed,

No traveler can change place.

Moses and the prophets speak;

Let living ears still hear.

For once the gulf is fixed between,

No crossing can draw near.