Matthew 19:20 — ExegesisTAB

The verse begins with the historical present legei {λέγει | lé-gei} ‘he says,’ a common narrative device that heightens vividness by portraying the scene as unfolding in real time. The indirect object autō {αὐτῷ | au-tô} ‘to him’ precedes the explicit subject ho neaniskos {ὁ νεανίσκος | ho ne-a-nís-kos} ‘the young man,’ producing the word order “he says to him, the young man,” which momentarily foregrounds the addressee (Jesus) before clarifying the speaker. The object phrase Panta tauta {Πάντα ταῦτα | Pán-ta taû-ta} ‘all these things’ stands before the verb ephylaxa {ἐφύλαξα | e-phý-la-xa} ‘I kept,’ giving emphasis to the totality of the commandments just mentioned. The aorist ephylaxa presents his obedience as a completed, comprehensive action. The sequence ti {τί | tí} ‘what’ plus the adverb eti {ἔτι | é-ti} ‘still’ combined with hysterō {ὑστερῶ | hy-ste-rô} ‘I lack’ forms a direct question that implies a perceived deficiency despite past obedience. In English, the narrative present is rendered as a simple past (“said,” “replied”) for natural style, while the object–verb sequence “all these things I have kept” is preserved to echo the Greek emphasis. The question is translated as a single, clear clause that retains both the sense of ongoing lack and the open-ended nature of the inquiry.