But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy.
Parallel translations
- WEB But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.
- KJV And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
- BSB But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.
- NKJV But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
- NLT But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hearing this, the ruler becomes very sad because he was very rich. His wealth holds his heart.
Overview
The man's grief reveals that his riches, not God, held first place. Faced with surrendering his idol to follow Jesus, he cannot let go. The verse soberly shows that earthly treasure can keep someone from the only treasure that lasts, even when they are drawn to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- 1 Jn 2:15Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.
- Luke 12:15He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”
- Luke 8:14That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
- Mark 10:22But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions.
- Matt 19:22But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.
- Job 31:24–25“If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
- Luke 21:34“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
- Judg 18:23–24As they cried to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”
- Phil 3:8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
- Col 3:5Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;
- Eph 5:5Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
- Luke 19:8Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 18:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.