I have kept all these since my youth

The Greek that is translated as “I have kept all these since my youth” or similar in English is translated in Githabul as “When I was a boy I heard [obeyed] all these things, I have never been disobedient [not hearing] to what you have said.” It was not possible to say “I have done all these things,” since that would have meant he killed, committed adultery, stole, etc. (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

complete verse (Luke 18:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 18:21:

  • Noongar: “The man replied, ‘Since I was young, I have always done everything the Law says.’ ” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “That person said: ‘All those rules, I have followed since my childhood.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The man said to him, ‘Sir, all that I have obeyed since I was a child.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And that man answered Jesus, he said, ‘Teacher, all of those things I have observed, and I have not disobeyed, ever since I was a child.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That man then said, ‘Beginning from my youth, I have-been-obeying all these laws.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Teacher,’ said that man again, ‘as for all of that, I have been obeying that since my childhood.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 18:21

Exegesis:

tauta panta ephulaxa ‘I have kept all these.’

ek neotētos ‘from boyhood,’ probably referring to the age of twelve, cf. on 2.42.

neotēs ‘youth,’ ‘childhood.’

Translation:

He may have to be specified, e.g. “the man” (New English Bible), celui-ci (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘the ruler (just mentioned)’ (Javanese, Tagalog).

All these I have observed. In Sranan Tongo the idiom is, ‘I have put my eye on all these things.’

From my youth, or, ‘since I became a boy.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 18:21

18:21

All these I have kept from my youth: In this statement the rich man claimed that he had obeyed all these commands from the time he was young. The text does not indicate whether or not his statement is true.

In some languages it may be more natural to put the time phrase from my youth before the rest of the verse. For example:

From my youth ⌊up until now⌋ I have obeyed/done all these ⌊commandments⌋.

In some languages it may also be more natural to translate the meaning in a negative way. For example:

Beginning from the time I was a small child, I have not disobeyed any of these commands.

All these: The phrase All these refers to all the commands that Jesus mentioned in 18:20b–f. It may be natural to make this explicit. For example:

all these commands (New Century Version)
-or-
all of these ⌊laws⌋

I have kept: In this context, the phrase have kept means “obeyed.” For example:

I have obeyed (Good News Translation)

from my youth: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as from my youth is literally “from youth.” The young man indicated that he had begun to obey the commands when he was a boy and still continued to obey them. Here is another way to translate this:

Ever since I was young (Good News Translation)

he said: The Berean Standard Bible places the phrase he said at the end of the quote in this verse. However, in the Greek text it comes at the beginning of the verse, and several English versions have also placed it there. For example:

And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” (English Standard Version)

Place the phrase where it is natural in your language.

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