Luke 18:24-27

18:24 When Jesus noticed this, ¹  he said, “How hard ²  it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ³  18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ⁴  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then ⁵  who can be saved?” ⁶  18:27 He replied, “What is impossible ⁷  for mere humans ⁸  is possible for God.”

Luke 18:2

18:2 He said, ⁹  “In a certain city ¹⁰  there was a judge ¹¹  who neither feared God nor respected people. ¹² 

Luke 17:5-6

17:5 The ¹³  apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ¹⁴  17:6 So ¹⁵  the Lord replied, ¹⁶  “If ¹⁷  you had faith the size of ¹⁸  a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ¹⁹  tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ ²⁰  and it would obey ²¹  you.

[18:24]  ¹ tc ‡ The phrase περίλυπον γενόμενον (perilupon genomenon, “[When Jesus saw him] becoming sad”) is found in the majority of mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ 078 ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt sy), and it is not unknown in Lukan style to repeat a word or phrase in adjacent passages (TCGNT 143). However, the phrase is lacking in some significant mss (א B L ˹ 579 1241 2542 co). The shorter reading is nevertheless difficult to explain if it is not original: It is possible that these witnesses omitted this phrase out of perceived redundancy from the preceding verse, although intentional omissions, especially by several and varied witnesses, are generally unlikely. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[18:24]  ² sn For the rich it is hard for wealth not to be the point of focus, as the contrast in vv. 28-30 will show, and for rich people to trust God. Wealth was not an automatic sign of blessing as far as Jesus was concerned.

[18:24]  ³ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[18:25]  ⁴ sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle, one of the smallest items one might deal with on a regular basis, in contrast to the biggest animal of the region. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus is saying rhetorically that this is impossible, unless God (v. 27) intervenes.

[18:26]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.

[18:26]  ⁶ sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?

[18:27]  ⁷ sn The term impossible is in the emphatic position in the Greek text. God makes the impossible possible.

[18:27]  ⁸ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.

[18:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “town.”

[18:2]  ¹¹ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

[18:2]  ¹² tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.

[17:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ¹⁴ sn The request of the apostles, “Increase our faith,” is not a request for a gift of faith, but a request to increase the depth of their faith.

[17:6]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[17:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “said.”

[17:6]  ¹⁷ tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

[17:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:6]  ¹⁹ sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.

[17:6]  ²⁰ tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).

[17:6]  ²¹ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.