A Rich Young Man’s Question^(A)

¹⁶ [At that time; ^LAnd look/^Tbehold] A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what ·good thing [good deed; ^Lgood] must I do to have ·life forever [eternal life]?”

¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only ·God [^Lone] is good. But if you want to ·have life forever [have eternal life; ^Lenter life], ·obey [keep] the ·commands [commandments].”

¹⁸ The man asked, “Which commands?”

Jesus answered, “‘You must not murder anyone; you must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery; you must not steal; you must not ·tell lies about your neighbor [testify falsely; ^Tbear false witness]; ¹⁹ honor your father and mother [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20]; and love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18].’”

²⁰ The young man said, “I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these things. What ·else do I need to do [^Ldo I still lack]?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be ·perfect [complete], then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² But when the young man heard this, he left ·sorrowfully [grieving], because he ·was rich [had many possessions].

A Rich Young Man’s Question^(A)

¹⁷ As Jesus started ·to leave [on his way; on a journey], a man ran to him and ·fell on his knees [knelt] before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to ·have life forever [^Linherit eternal life]?”

¹⁸ Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? ·Only God is good [No one is good except One—God; ^CJesus is not denying his own divinity, but is challenging the man’s understanding of goodness]. ¹⁹ You know the commands: ‘You must not murder. You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery. You must not steal. You must not ·tell lies about your neighbor [testify falsely; ^Tbear false witness]. You must not ·cheat [defraud]. Honor your father and mother’ [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20].”

²⁰ The man said, “Teacher, I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these things since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

²² He was ·very sad [shocked; appalled] to hear Jesus say this, and he left ·sorrowfully [grieving], because he ·was rich [had many possessions].

A Rich Man’s Question^(A)

¹⁸ A certain ·leader [ruler] asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to ·have life forever [^Linherit eternal life]?”

¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? ·Only God is good [^LNo one is good except one—God; ^CJesus is not denying his own divinity, but is challenging the man’s understanding of goodness]. ²⁰ You know the commands: ‘You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not ·tell lies [testify falsely] about your neighbor. Honor your father and mother [Ex. 20:12–16; Deut. 5:16–20].’”

²¹ But the leader said, “I have ·obeyed [kept carefully; guarded] all these commands since ·I was a boy [my youth].”

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you ·need to do [lack]. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” ²³ But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was ·very [extremely] rich.

²⁴ ·Jesus looked at him and [or When Jesus saw this reaction, he] said, “·It is very hard [^LHow hard it is…!] for ·rich people [^Lthose who have wealth] to enter the kingdom of God. ²⁵ [^LFor; Indeed] It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God [^Cmeaning it is impossible, by human effort; see v. 27].”

Who Can Be Saved?

²⁶ When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus answered, “The things impossible ·for people [humanly speaking] are possible for God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Look, we have left ·everything [or our possessions; or our home] and followed you.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, all those who have left houses, wives, brothers [or siblings], parents, or children ·for [for the sake of] the kingdom of God ³⁰ will get much more in this ·life [age; ^Ltime]. And in the ·age [aeon; world] that is coming, they will have ·life forever [eternal life].”