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And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.”
Mark 10:20 · New American Standard Bible
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.
  • BSB “Teacher,” he replied, “all these I have kept from my youth.”
  • NKJV And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept 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 33:31–32They 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.
  • 2 Tim 3:5holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.
  • Phil 3:6concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
  • Rom 7:9I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
  • Luke 18:11–12The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
  • Matt 19:20The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”
  • Ezek 5:14“‘Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all that pass by.
  • Isa 58:2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments. They delight to draw near to God.
  • Mal 3:8Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
  • Luke 10:29But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 10:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.