Matthew 19:21 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

²¹ Jesus replied, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; then become my follower and you will have treasure in heaven.”

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

²¹ Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

²¹ Jesus answered him, If you would be perfect [that is, have that spiritual maturity which accompanies self-sacrificing character], go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; and come, be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me].

American Standard Version (1901)

²¹ Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Common English Bible

²¹ Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”

Catholic Public Domain Version

²¹ Jesus said to him: "If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me."

Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version

²¹ Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

Matthew 19:21 Cross References

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and lift up his cross [of responsibility] and [then he can] become my follower.

Matthew 19:20

The young man said to Him, “I have [already] been observing all of these commandments. What do I [still] lack?”

Matthew 19:22

But when the young man heard these words, he went away saddened, for he had many possessions.

Matthew 19:28

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, [since] you have become my followers, in the time of new beginnings [i.e., the church age], when the Son of man sits on His glorious throne, you apostles will also sit on twelve thrones, judging [i.e., through their writings] the twelve tribes of Israel [i.e., God’s people].

Matthew 4:19

And He said to them, “Come with me, and I will make you fishermen for people.”

Matthew 5:48

Therefore, you must [attempt to] be complete, just as your heavenly Father is [already] complete.”

Matthew 8:22

But Jesus answered him, “Become my follower, and let the [spiritually] dead bury them” [i.e., let a person’s relatives care for their own family members until they die].

Matthew 9:9

As Jesus moved on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, “Become my follower.” And he got up and followed Him.

Mark 10:21

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, “There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven.”

Mark 2:14

And as He walked along He saw Levi [i.e., the same person as Matthew. See Matt. 9:9], the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the toll booth [i.e., collecting taxes]. He said to him, “Become my follower.” And he got up and followed Him.

Mark 8:34

And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower.

Luke 12:33

Sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; provide yourselves with money belts that do not wear out [i.e., from the constant use of carrying much money all the time, instead of investing it in others’ needs]. [Then you will possess] an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief can approach, nor moth destroy.

Luke 14:33

So therefore, every one of you who does not say ‘goodbye’ to everything he owns cannot be my disciple.

Luke 16:9

Therefore, I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using worldly wealth, so that when it fails [i.e., when you run out of money] they [i.e., the friends you made with its wise and benevolent use] may welcome you into the eternal [i.e., heavenly] dwelling places. [Note: The idea here seems to be that by your shrewd use of material possessions for the benefit of others, you are actually storing up treasures for yourself in heaven].

Luke 18:22

When Jesus heard this He said to him, “[There is] one thing you still lack. Sell all your possessions and distribute [the money] to poor people; become my follower, [and then] you will have treasure in heaven.”

Luke 5:27

Then after these things happened, Jesus went out [i.e., probably walking along a street] and saw a publican [Note: This was a person with a bad reputation for dishonest tax collecting activities] named Matthew [i.e., the same person as Levi. See Mark 2:14] sitting at the toll booth [collecting taxes] and said, “Become my follower.”

Luke 6:40

The disciple is not more important than his teacher, but when every person becomes complete, [then] he will be like his teacher.

Luke 9:23

Then He said to everyone, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] everyday, and [then he can] become my follower.

John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 12:26

If any person wants to serve me, he should become my follower; and wherever I am, my servant will be there also. If any person serves me, the Father will honor him.

Acts 2:45

They sold their belongings and property and divided [the money] among all [the believers] according to each one’s need.

Hebrews 10:34

For you showed sympathy for those who were in prison and accepted it joyfully when your [own] possessions were taken away, [because] you knew that you yourselves had a better and more permanent possession [in heaven].