ESV 18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" MSG 18 One day one of the local officials asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?" ESV 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. MSG 19 Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good - only God. ESV 20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" MSG 20 You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother." ESV 21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." MSG 21 He said, "I've kept them all for as long as I can remember." ESV 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." MSG 22 When Jesus heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me." ESV 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. MSG 23 This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go. ESV 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! MSG 24 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom? ESV 25 For 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." MSG 25 I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom." ESV 26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" MSG 26 "Then who has any chance at all?" the others asked. ESV 27 But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." MSG 27 "No chance at all," Jesus said, "if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it." ESV 28 And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." MSG 28 Peter tried to regain some initiative: "We left everything we owned and followed you, didn't we?" ESV 29 And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, MSG 29 "Yes," said Jesus, "and you won't regret it. No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children - whatever - ESV 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." MSG 30 will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!"
MSG 18 One day one of the local officials asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?" MSG 19 Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good - only God. MSG 20 You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother." MSG 21 He said, "I've kept them all for as long as I can remember." MSG 22 When Jesus heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me." MSG 23 This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go. MSG 24 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom? MSG 25 I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom." MSG 26 "Then who has any chance at all?" the others asked. MSG 27 "No chance at all," Jesus said, "if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it." MSG 28 Peter tried to regain some initiative: "We left everything we owned and followed you, didn't we?" MSG 29 "Yes," said Jesus, "and you won't regret it. No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children - whatever - MSG 30 will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!"