“Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.”
- KJV And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
- NKJV And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
- NASB And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.”
- NLT “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
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
The man claims to have kept all these commands from his youth. His sincere but shallow self-assessment reveals he has not seen his own heart.
Overview
The man answers confidently, believing his outward conformity to be full obedience. His reply shows a common error: mistaking external observance for true righteousness. Jesus will gently but pointedly show that one decisive test will reveal whether God or his possessions hold first place in his heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezek 33:31–32So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- 2 Tim 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- Phil 3:6as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
- Rom 7:9Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
- Luke 18:11–12The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- Matt 19:20“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
- Ezek 5:14I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
- Isa 58:2For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”
- Mal 3:8Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Luke 10:29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 10:20 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.