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

³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor.^(A) Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven^(B) that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.^(C)

¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,^(A) and to be generous and willing to share.^{(B) 19} In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves^(C) as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of^(D) the life that is truly life.

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,^(A) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,^(B) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(C) Then come, follow me.”

Treasures in Heaven^(A)

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,^(B) where moths and vermin destroy,^(C) and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,^(D) where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.^(E)

⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth^(A) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.^(B)

⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a](A) Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The Cost of Following Jesus^(A)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(B) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(C) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(D)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(E)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(F)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.^(A)