^19:19honor your father and mother,²¹ and love your neighbor as yourself.”²²^19:20The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed²³ all these laws.²⁴ What do I still lack?” ^19:21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money²⁵ to the poor, and you will have treasure²⁶ in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ^19:22But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.²⁷

^19:23Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth,²⁸ it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!

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Footnotes

21 A quotation from Exod 20:12–16; Deut 5:16–20.
22 A quotation from Lev 19:18.
23 Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
24 Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command—to give away all he had—revealed that internally he loved money more than God.
25 The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
26 The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1–10.
27 Grk “he had many possessions.” This term (κτῆμα, ktēma) is often used for land as a possession.
28 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

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

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.

“I have kept all these,” the young man told him. “What do I still lack?”

“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

NLTNew Living Translation

Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.” But when the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven!

KJV 1900King James Version

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

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