Matthew 19:16-26

Common English Bible

A rich man’s question

¹⁶ A man approached him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ The man said, “Which ones?”

Then Jesus said, “Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother,^[a] and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”^[b]

²⁰ The young man replied, “I’ve kept all these. What am I still missing?”

²¹ Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”

²² But when the young man heard this, he went away saddened, because he had many possessions.

Teaching about giving up things

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I assure you that it will be very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ In fact, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

²⁵ When his disciples heard this, they were stunned. “Then who can be saved?” they asked.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them carefully and said, “It’s impossible for human beings. But all things are possible for God.”