Matthew 19:16–24
A rich young man leaves sad when Jesus asks him to let go of what he has
Study it word by word16And look, one man came to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I may have eternal life?”
17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18He says to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
19honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20The young man says to him, “All these things I have kept; what do I still lack?”
21Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22But when the young man heard the word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you that a rich man will enter into the kingdom of heaven with difficulty.
24And again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
In its context
14But Jesus said, “Let the children be, and do not hinder them from coming to me, for to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
15And after laying his hands on them, he went from there.
…
25And when the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Its words in the original
- εἷςheis· one
One.
- προσελθὼνproselthōn· come to, approach
Come up to, approach someone.
- εἶπενeipen· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- ΔιδάσκαλεDidaskale· teacher
Teacher, one who teaches.
- ἀγαθὸνagathon· good
Good.
- ποιήσωpoiēsō· do, make
Do, make, produce.
- σχῶschō· have
Have, possess, hold.
- ζωὴνzōēn· life
Life; the true life that God gives.
- αἰώνιονaiōnion· eternal
Eternal: belonging to God's age and without end.
- ἐρωτᾷςerōtais· ask
Ask a question; also request, ask for.
- ἐστινestin· be
Be, exist.
- θέλειςtheleis· want, wish
Want, wish, be willing.
- εἰσελθεῖνeiselthein· enter, go in
Enter, go in, come in.
- τήρησονtērēson· keep
Keep, obey; also guard, preserve.
- ἐντολάςentolas· commandment
Commandment, order.
- ΠοίαςPoias· what kind of?
Which? what kind of?
- ἸησοῦςIēsous· Jesus
Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).
- φονεύσειςphoneuseis· murder
Kill, murder.
- μοιχεύσειςmoicheuseis· commit adultery
Commit adultery.
- κλέψειςklepseis· steal
Steal.
- ψευδομαρτυρήσειςpseudomartyrēseis· testify falsely
Give false testimony.
- ΤίμαTima· honor
Honor, give due worth; also set a price.
- πατέραpatera· father, Father
Father; also ancestor.
- μητέραmētera· mother
Mother.
- ἈγαπήσειςAgapēseis· love
Love: to seek the good of the other, even of someone who does not deserve it.
- πλησίονplēsion· near, neighbor
Near; "the neighbor": the one who is near, the other person.
- σεαυτόνseauton· yourself
Yourself.
- νεανίσκοςneaniskos· young man
Young man, youth.
- ἐφύλαξαephylaxa· guard, keep
Keep, obey; also guard, protect.
- ὑστερῶhysterō· run short, lack
Run short, lack; fall behind.
- ἔφηephē· say
Say.
- τέλειοςteleios· complete, mature
Complete, mature, whole; often rendered “perfect.”
- ὕπαγεhypage· go away
Go away, leave; "go!".
- πώλησόνpōlēson· sell
Sell.
- ὑπάρχονταhyparchonta· be, exist
Be, exist, be present; "what one has", one's possessions.
- δὸςdos· give
Give.
- πτωχοῖςptōchois· poor
Poor, having nothing and depending on others. "Poor in spirit": someone who knows he is needy before God.
- θησαυρὸνthēsauron· treasure
Treasure; a storehouse or chest where something of value is kept.
- οὐρανοῖςouranois· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- δεῦροdeuro· come
Come! here!
- ἀκολούθειakolouthei· follow
Follow, go after someone; follow him as a disciple.
- ἀκούσαςakousas· hear, listen
Hear, listen; also heed.
- λόγονlogon· word
Word, saying, message; also reason, cause, account.
- ἀπῆλθενapēlthen· go away
Go away, leave.
- λυπούμενοςlypoumenos· grieve
Make sad; be sad, grieve.
- κτήματαktēmata· property
Property, possession, estate.
- πολλάpolla· much, many
Much, great; in the plural, many.
- μαθηταῖςmathētais· disciple
Disciple: someone who learns from a teacher and follows him in order to live as he does.
- ἈμὴνAmēn· truly, amen
Amen: a Hebrew word meaning "so it is", "it is firm". Jesus uses it at the start of a saying to affirm what he is about to say: "truly".
- πλούσιοςplousios· rich
Rich; a rich person.
- δυσκόλωςdyskolōs· with difficulty
With difficulty, hardly.
- βασιλείανbasileian· kingdom
Kingdom: the reign of a king and the place where he reigns. "The kingdom of heaven" is the reign of God.
- πάλινpalin· again
Again, once more; also "in turn".
- εὐκοπώτερόνeukopōteron· easier
Easier.
- κάμηλονkamēlon· camel
Camel.
- τρυπήματοςtrypēmatos· hole, eye
Hole; the eye of a needle.
- ῥαφίδοςrhaphidos· needle
Needle.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".