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OET (OET-LV) The Yaʸsous was_saying to_him:
If you_are_wanting to_be perfect, be_going, sell the things possessing of_you and give to_the_poor and you_will_be_having treasure in the_heavens, and come, be_following after_me.
OET (OET-RV) “If you want to be perfect,” answered Yeshua, “go and sell what you own and give to the poor, and then you’ll have treasure in the heavens. Then come and follow me.”
In this section, a young man asked Jesus what he must do to get eternal life. Jesus gave him a standard answer, which was to obey God’s commands.
The young man apparently felt that this was not enough and asked what else he should do (19:20). Then Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him. The young man was rich, and he was not willing to sell his things. So he left.
Jesus then used the rich young man as an example. He explained that riches make it difficult to enter the kingdom (19:23–24). The saying of a camel going through the eye of a needle was probably a well-known proverb about something impossible to do. Without God making it possible, neither a rich person nor anyone else is able to enter the kingdom (19:26).
Jesus also gave a promise that those whom he asked to leave their possessions and family behind to serve him would receive great rewards (19:29).
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Rich Young Man (NIV)
A rich young man’s questions
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 10:17–31 and Luke 18:18–30.
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect,
Jesus said to him, “If you(sing) want to be perfect/complete,
Jesus answered, “If you want your life to be without fault,
If you want to be perfect: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as to be perfect also means “to be complete/whole/mature.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
If you want to be complete
If you want to lack nothing
If you want to have no faults
go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,
go and sell your possessions and give the money to poor people.
go back and sell everything that you own and give the money to the people who are poor/needy.
go: This is a command. It does not specify where the young man should go. It just assumes that he will have to go to where he lives to take care of what Jesus told him to do. It is the opposite of the verb “come” at the end of the verse.
sell: The verb sell assumes that the young man would get money for his possessions.
your possessions: In Greek, this phrase is plural. It refers to everything that the young man owned.
Here are some other ways to translate it:
what you possess (ESV)
everything you own (CEV)
all your property (JBP)
and give to the poor: This clause implies that the young man should take the money he received for his possessions and give it to the poor. For example:
and give the money to the poor (NCV)
the poor: This phrase refers to people who are in poverty. They have little money and possessions.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
poor people
and you will have treasure in heaven.
If you do that, you will have wealth/riches in heaven.
As a result, God will give you a reward in heaven.
and: In Greek, 19:21c is joined to the beginning of the verse with the common conjunction that the BSB frequently translates as and.
Here are some other ways to begin 19:21c:
If you do this (NCV)
As a result
you will have treasure in heaven: The Greek word that the BSB translates as treasure refers to something that is very valuable. The phrase treasure in heaven probably refers to rewards from God. (This same phrase occurs in 6:20a.) God will reward his people for “acts of righteousness” such as giving to the poor (6:2–4).
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Use the same word for treasures as in 6:19a. Such a word can be used to refer to figurative or spiritual treasures. For example:
you will have treasure/wealth in heaven
you will have riches in heaven (GNT)
Use a word or expression that refers to spiritual treasures. For example:
you will have rewards in heaven for doing good
you will receive that which is worth much in heaven
Then come, follow Me.”
Then come and follow me.”
Then come and be my follower/disciple.”
Then come, follow Me: Here, Jesus used the verb follow in a figurative sense. He meant that the young man should become his disciple.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
Then come and be my follower (CEV)
This figurative sense of the word follow first occurs in 4:19a. See the note there for more information.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
εἰ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰησοῦς Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι ὕπαγε πώλησον σοῦ τά ὑπάρχοντα καί δός πτωχοῖς καί ἕξεις θησαυρόν ἐν οὐρανοῖς καί δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοί)
Jesus speaks as if this were a hypothetical situation, but he means that he knows it is true. If your language does not state something as a condition if it is certain or true, and if your readers might think that what Jesus is saying is uncertain, then you could translate his words as an affirmative statement. Alternate translation: [Because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
θέλεις & ὕπαγε πώλησόν σου & δὸς & ἕξεις & δεῦρο, ἀκολούθει
˱you˲_˓are˒_wanting & ˓be˒_going (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰησοῦς Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι ὕπαγε πώλησον σοῦ τά ὑπάρχοντα καί δός πτωχοῖς καί ἕξεις θησαυρόν ἐν οὐρανοῖς καί δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοί)
Throughout this verse, the word you, the word your, and the commands are singular because Jesus is speaking to the young man.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
πτωχοῖς
˱to˲_˓the˒_poor
Jesus is using the adjective poor as a noun to mean poor people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [to people who are poor]
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
(Occurrence 2) καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰησοῦς Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι ὕπαγε πώλησον σοῦ τά ὑπάρχοντα καί δός πτωχοῖς καί ἕξεις θησαυρόν ἐν οὐρανοῖς καί δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοί)
The word and introduces the result that will follow if the man does sell his possessions and give to the poor. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a result. Alternate translation: [and as a result,]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
δεῦρο, ἀκολούθει μοι
come ˓be˒_following (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔφη αὐτῷ Ὁ Ἰησοῦς Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι ὕπαγε πώλησον σοῦ τά ὑπάρχοντα καί δός πτωχοῖς καί ἕξεις θησαυρόν ἐν οὐρανοῖς καί δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοί)
The phrase come, follow me is a command to travel with Jesus and be his disciple. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [be my disciple] or [come with me as my student]
19:21-22 By calling the man to go and sell and come, follow me, Jesus revealed that the man had not in fact kept the first of the ten commandments (Exod 20:3). His possessions—his wealth and security—had become his god (see Matt 6:20, 24; 13:44-46).
OET (OET-LV) The Yaʸsous was_saying to_him:
If you_are_wanting to_be perfect, be_going, sell the things possessing of_you and give to_the_poor and you_will_be_having treasure in the_heavens, and come, be_following after_me.
OET (OET-RV) “If you want to be perfect,” answered Yeshua, “go and sell what you own and give to the poor, and then you’ll have treasure in the heavens. Then come and follow me.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.