Scripture Reference Window Browser "Back" or "Alt+Left_Arrow" to return.
Matthew 19:16-24 CEV
(16) A man came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?"
(17) Jesus said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments."
(18) "Which ones?" the man asked. Jesus answered, "Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others.
(19) Respect your father and mother. And love others as much as you love yourself." [Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18]
(20) The young man said, "I have obeyed all of these. What else must I do?"
(21) Jesus replied, "If you want to be perfect, go sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower."
(22) When the young man heard this, he was sad [and went away], because he was very rich.
(23) And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you that a rich man will with great difficulty enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
(24) And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Please note: We neither believe, nor assert, Jesus here teaches one must give up all earthly possessions to become a friend of יהוה God. That is, of course, for each individual to decide. The people alive in the day of Jesus's preaching had opportunity to literally join with him in that preaching work; and, that is what Jesus here asked the young man to do. The way we today can join Jesus is not by literally following him around and learning by sitting at his feet: It is by reading the Bible to understand what Jesus teaches through it. (Acts 8:26-40) Then, we serve by sharing what we learn with our family, friends, and neighbors. It seems appropriate to work to have a home, a vehicle, and money to buy food and provisions of life. (If, that is, we are among those favored to even be able to attempt to do so.) We believe Jesus is simply teaching at Matthew 19:21, the kingdom hope must be the most important thing in our lives. (Matthew 13:44-46) [If we do not have even the basic needs of life, we do what we can to obtain them in an honest way. While doing so, we do our utmost of keep the hope of the kingdom of Christ first in our lives. The kingdom is all the hope there is. Jesus was simply saying that riches tend to get in the way of that simple hope. If you are wealthy, you must still keep hope in Christ as the most important thing in life.]Matthew 19:16-24 ALT
(16) And look! Someone having approached said to Him, "Good teacher, what good [thing] shall I do that I shall be having eternal life?"
(17) But He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one [is] good except One-God. But if you desire to enter into that life, keep the commandments."
(18) He says to Him, "Which [ones]?" So Jesus said, "'You will not murder; You will not commit adultery; You will not steal; You will not give false testimony;
(19) 'Honor your father and mother;' and, 'You will love your neighbor as yourself.'" [Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18]
(20) The young man says to Him, "All these I myself obeyed from my youth; what am I still lacking?"
(21) Jesus said to him, "If you desire to be perfect, be going away; sell your possessions and give to [the] poor [ones], and you will have treasure in heaven. And come! Be following Me!"
(22) But the young man having heard the word, went away sorrowing [or, distressed], for he was having many possessions.
(23) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Positively, I say to you*, with difficulty will a rich [person] enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
(24) "Now again I say to you*, it is easier [for] a camel to pass through an eye of a needle, than [for] a rich [person] to enter into the kingdom of God."
Matthew 19:16-24 BBE
(16) And one came to him and said, Master, what good thing have I to do, so that I may have eternal life?
(17) And he said to him, Why are you questioning me about what is good? One there is who is good: but if you have a desire to go into life, keep the rules of the law.
(18) He says to him, Which? And Jesus said, Do not put anyone to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness,
(19) Give honour to your father and your mother: and, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself. [Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18]
(20) The young man says to him, All these things have I done: what more is there?
(21) Jesus said to him, If you have a desire to be complete, go, get money for your property, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come after me.
(22) But hearing these words the young man went away sorrowing: for he had much property.
(23) And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, It is hard for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of heaven.
(24) And again I say to you, It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19:16-24 NWT
16 Now, look! a certain one came up to him and said: "Teacher, what good must I do in order to get everlasting life?" 17 He said to him: "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is that is good. If, though, you want to enter into life, observe the commandments continually." 18 He said to him: "Which ones?" Jesus said: "Why, You must not murder, You must not commit adultery, You must not steal, You must not bear false witness, 19 Honor [your] father and [your] mother, and, You must love your neighbor as yourself." [Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20; Lev 19:18] 20 The young man said to him: "I have kept all these; what yet am I lacking?" 21 Jesus said to him: "If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower." 22 When the young man heard this saying, he went away grieved, for he was holding many possessions. 23 But Jesus said to his disciples: "Truly I say to you that it will be a difficult thing for a rich man to get into the kingdom of the heavens. 24 Again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to get through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God."
Please use browser back arrow to return to previous page. | Home
You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals. The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
KJV - King James Version
MKJV - Modern King James Version
NWT - New World Translation
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
RV - Revised Version
YLT - Young's Literal Translation
