LUKE 18:18 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) One time a local leader asked Yeshua, “Good teacher, what do I need to do to gain eternal life?”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, magenta:vocative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And a certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, doing what will I inherit eternal life?”

UST Once a Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do in order to have everlasting life?”

BLB And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, having done what, will I inherit eternal life?"

AICNT And a ruler asked him, [saying,][fn] “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18:18, saying: Absent from D(05).

OEB And one of the leaders asked Jesus this question – ‘Good teacher, what must I do if I am to gain eternal life?’

WEBBE A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

WMBB A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

NET Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

LSV And a certain ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what having done—will I inherit continuous life?”

FBV One of the rulers came to Jesus and asked him, “Good Teacher, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”

TCNT Then a certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

T4T A Jewish leader asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what shall I do in order to have eternal life?”

LEB ¶ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, by[fn] doing what will I inherit eternal life?”

18:18 *Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“doing”) which is understood as means

BBE And a certain ruler put a question to him, saying, Good Master, what have I to do so that I may have eternal life?

Moff Then a ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what am I to do to inherit life eternal?"

Wymth The question was put to Him by a Ruler: "Good Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit the Life of the Ages?"

ASV And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

DRA And a certain ruler asked him, saying: Good master, what shall I do to possess everlasting life?

YLT And a certain ruler questioned him, saying, 'Good teacher, what having done — shall I inherit life age-during?'

Drby And a certain ruler asked him saying, Good teacher, having done what, shall I inherit eternal life?

RV And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

SLT And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, having done what, shall I inherit eternal life?

Wbstr And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

KJB-1769 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

KJB-1611 And a certaine ruler asked him, saying, Good master, what shall I doe to inherit eternall life?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps And a certayne ruler asked hym, saying: Good maister, what ought I to do, to possesse eternall lyfe?
(And a certain ruler asked him, saying: Good master, what ought I to do, to possess eternal life?)

Gnva Then a certaine ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what ought I to doe, to inherite eternall life?
(Then a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what ought I to do, to inherit eternal life? )

Cvdl And a certayne ruler axed him, and sayde: Good master, what must I do, that I maye enheret euerlastinge life?
(And a certain ruler asked him, and said: Good master, what must I do, that I may inherit everlasting life?)

TNT And a certayne ruler axed him sayinge: Good Master: what ought I to do to obtayne eternall lyfe?
(And a certain ruler asked him saying: Good Master: what ought I to do to obtain eternal life? )

Wycl And a prince axide hym, and seide, Goode maister, in what thing doynge schal Y weilde euerlastynge lijf?
(And a prince asked him, and said, Goode master, in what thing doing shall I weilde everlasting life?)

Luth Und es fragte ihn ein Oberster und sprach: Guter Meister, was muß ich tun, daß ich das ewige Leben ererbe?
(And it asked him/it a supreme and spoke: Good master, what/which must I do/put, that I the eternal life inherit?)

ClVg Et interrogavit eum quidam princeps, dicens: Magister bone, quid faciens vitam æternam possidebo?[fn]
(And asked him some prince, saying: Teacher/Master bone, what making life eternal I_will_possess? )

18.18 Et interrogavit eum. BEDA. Audierat hic princeps similes puerorum dignos esse, etc., usque ad his qui perfecti esse volunt, adjungit: Omnia vende et da pauperibus Marc. 10.. Magister bone. Quia bonum magistrum dixit, et non Deum vel Dei Filium confessus est dicit quamvis sanctum hominem comparatione Dei bonum non esse. Christus autem non renuit testimonium bonitatis, sed magistri absque Deo excludit bonitatem.

18.18 And asked him. BEDA. Listenerat this/here prince similar to_a_boyrum worthy to_be, etc., until to his who/which perfect to_be they_want, adjoins: Everything sell and give to_the_poor Marc. 10.. Teacher/Master bone. Because good teacher he/she_said, and not/no God or of_God Son confessus it_is he_says although/however holy man comparison of_God good not/no to_be. Christ/Messiah however not/no renuit testimony goodtatis, but teachers without to_God excludit goodness.

UGNT καὶ ἐπηρώτησέν τις αὐτὸν ἄρχων λέγων, Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσας, ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω?
(kai epaʸrōtaʸsen tis auton arⱪōn legōn, Didaskale agathe, ti poiaʸsas, zōaʸn aiōnion klaʸronomaʸsō?)

SBL-GNT Καὶ ἐπηρώτησέν τις αὐτὸν ἄρχων λέγων· Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;
(Kai epaʸrōtaʸsen tis auton arⱪōn legōn; Didaskale agathe, ti poiaʸsas zōaʸn aiōnion klaʸronomaʸsō;)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐπηρώτησέν τις αὐτὸν ἄρχων, λέγων, Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;
(Kai epaʸrōtaʸsen tis auton arⱪōn, legōn, Didaskale agathe, ti poiaʸsas zōaʸn aiōnion klaʸronomaʸsō;)

TC-GNT Καὶ ἐπηρώτησέ τις αὐτὸν ἄρχων, λέγων, Διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω;
(Kai epaʸrōtaʸse tis auton arⱪōn, legōn, Didaskale agathe, ti poiaʸsas zōaʸn aiōnion klaʸronomaʸsō; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Rich and Poor in the Gospel of Luke

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, a reversal of worldly fortunes characterizes entrance into, or exclusion from, the Kingdom of God. Mary announced that God would lift up the poor and humble and bring down the rich and powerful (1:52-53). Jesus announced at Nazareth that the gospel is “Good News to the poor” (4:18). He pronounced blessings on the poor and hungry, and woes against the rich and satisfied (6:20-26). This was a reversal of conventional wisdom, which held that God had blessed the rich and cursed the poor.

A number of Jesus’ parables severely warn against the danger of riches. The parable of the rich fool (12:13-21) reveals the consequence of storing up treasures on earth instead of having a rich relationship with God. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31) shows the eternal cost of ignoring the poor and helpless while enjoying the good things in life. The rich man who asked Jesus the way to eternal life was devastated when Jesus said he must sell all that he had and give to the poor (18:18-23).

Who are the poor in Luke’s Gospel? Are they the physically poor or those that are poor in spirit (cp. Matt 5:3)? Almost certainly it is both. The physically poor, who have very little, are naturally dependent on God for their needs. The rich and powerful are likely to be self-sufficient, forgetting their need for God. It is impossible for rich people to enter God’s Kingdom as long as they trust in their riches to get them there (16:25-26). God accepts those who put their faith in him alone.

Passages for Further Study

Matt 5:3; Luke 1:52-53; 4:18; 6:20-25; 12:13-34; 14:12-23; 16:19-31; 18:18-30

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 18:18–30: It is hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom

The theme of this section is similar in some ways to the theme of the preceding section. In both sections Jesus talked about entering the kingdom of God. This section also contrasts with the preceding one. In that section the children represent humble people who easily depend on God and welcome his rule/reign. The ruler in this section represents people who are rich and powerful. It is very difficult for such people to welcome God’s reign and submit to it.

The ruler asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life. Jesus told him to obey God’s commands. Among the Jews, this was a well-known answer to the question of how to obtain eternal life. The ruler said that he had obeyed God’s commands since he was a child. Then Jesus told him to sell what he had, give the money to the poor, and become his disciple. But the ruler valued his riches too much to do that. Then Jesus said that it is very hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom.

At the end of the section Jesus promised that people who left their possessions and family behind to serve him would receive great rewards.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus taught that riches make it difficult to obtain eternal life

A Rich Man’s Question (NCV)

The rich young man (NJB)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 19:16–30 and Mark 10:17–31.

18:18a

Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher,

¶ One of the leaders asked him, “Good/Righteous teacher,
¶ After this, a Jewish leader said to Jesus, “Teacher, you^(sing) are a good/upright person.

Then: The events in this section happened sometime after the events in 18:15–17. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between these two events. In some languages, it is natural to introduce a section with a time word or phrase. If this is true in your language, use an expression here that is not too specific. For example, the BSB translates the Greek conjunction that begins this verse as Then. Another way to translate this is:

After that

In other languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this event in a natural way in your language.

a certain ruler: The Greek word that the BSB translates as ruler refers here to a Jewish leader. This leader may have been an official of a local synagogue. He was not one of the Roman political rulers. Other ways to translate the word are:

An important man (CEV)

A Jewish leader (GNT)

In some languages there may be a special way to introduce this ruler at the beginning of this event. For example:

There was a leader of the Jews who…Kankanaey Back Translation on TW

Introduce him in a natural way in your language.

asked Him: The pronoun Him refers to Jesus. In some languages it may be helpful to use his name here at the beginning of the section. For example:

asked Jesus (GNT)

Good Teacher: The ruler addressed Jesus as Good Teacher to show respect for him. In this context the phrase Good Teacher refers to a teacher who is morally good, upright, or holy. It does not refer to his ability to teach well.

In some languages it may not be natural to use a description like “good” as part of a person’s title when you are speaking to that person. If that is true in your language, you may want to put the word “good” in a different phrase. For example:

Teacher, you are a good person.

Teacher: The word Teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach other people things about God and his commands. In some languages the appropriate way to address a religious teacher may be:

Honored Teacher

Sir

Master

The term does not refer to a person who taught children in school.

18:18b

what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

what shall I do to receive eternal life?”
By/through what deed will I be able to live forever with God?”
What things/actions must I do so that God will give me everlasting life?”

what must I do to inherit eternal life?: Here the ruler was asking what religious duty or deed he should perform in order to receive eternal life. Some other ways to translate this are:

…what must I do to have eternal life? (CEV)

…what deed should I do so that I may live eternally?

to inherit: In this context, the word inherit means “receive, obtain” in a general sense. It does not refer to receiving a person’s property after he dies. Another way to translate this is:

so that I may receive

The context implies that the ruler wanted to receive eternal life from God. In some languages, it may be necessary to say from whom the man expected to obtain eternal life. If that is true in your language, you may need to supply the information that it is God who gives that life. For example:

so that God will give me eternal life

In 10:25, a law expert asked the same question.

eternal life: The word eternal refers to something that does not end. The phrase eternal life refers to life in heaven with God. This life continues forever. Some ways to translate this are:

unending life

life that never ends

In some languages, a literal translation of eternal life would wrongly mean that the man hoped to live forever on earth without dying. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to supply some implied information. For example:

unending life in heaven

to live forever with God after I die

In some languages, it may be best to translate life as a verb. For example:

to live eternally/forever

so that God will cause me to live forever in heaven

Parallel LUKE 18:18

Section 18:18–30: It is hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom

18:18a

18:18b