Luke 18:18

The Wealthy Ruler

18:18 Now ¹  a certain ruler ²  asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ³ 

Luke 18:23

18:23 But when the man ⁴  heard this he became very sad, ⁵  for he was extremely wealthy.

[18:18]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[18:18]  ² sn Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.

[18:18]  ³ sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.

[18:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ⁵ tn Or “very distressed” (L&N 25.277).