The Rich Ruler

18 (A)And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to (B)inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: (C)‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, (D)“All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. (E)Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have (F)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 (G)But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, (H)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter (I)the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter (J)the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, (K)“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, (L)we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, (M)there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers[a] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive (N)many times more (O)in this time, and in (P)the age to come eternal life.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 18:29 Or wife or brothers and sisters

A rich man’s question

18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”

19 Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. 20 You know the commandments: Don’t commit adultery. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.”[a]

21 Then the ruler said, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”

22 When Jesus heard this, he said, “There’s one more thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” 23 When he heard these words, the man became sad because he was extremely rich.

24 When Jesus saw this, he said, “It’s very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom! 25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”

28 Peter said, “Look, we left everything we own and followed you.”

29 Jesus said to them, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, husband, wife, brothers, sisters, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom 30 will receive many times more in this age and eternal life in the coming age.”

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The Rich and the Kingdom of God(A)

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(B)

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[a](C)

21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,(D) and you will have treasure in heaven.(E) Then come, follow me.”

23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!(F) 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”(G)

28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”(H)

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come(I) eternal life.”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 18:20 Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20