The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Parallel translations
- WEB The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”
- BSB “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
- NKJV The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
- NASB The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
- NLT “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
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 young man claims he has kept all these commands yet senses he still lacks something. His confidence and his unease together reveal his real spiritual condition.
Overview
The man's claim to have kept the commandments shows a shallow understanding of the law as outward acts only. Yet his lingering question—'What do I still lack?'—betrays an awareness that something is missing. Jesus will use this opening to expose the idol that rules his heart, showing that self-righteous effort cannot satisfy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gal 3:24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
- Mark 10:20–21And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
- Phil 3:6Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
- John 8:7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
- Luke 18:21–22And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
- Rom 7:9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- Luke 15:29And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
- Luke 15:7I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
- Luke 18:11–12The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
- Rom 3:19–23Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 19:20 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.