Matthew 18:3

18:3 and said, “I tell you the truth, ¹  unless you turn around and become like little children, ²  you will never ³  enter the kingdom of heaven!

Matthew 19:24

19:24 Again I say, ⁴  it is easier for a camel ⁵  to go through the eye of a needle ⁶  than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁷  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁸  tax collectors ⁹  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Matthew 25:11-12

25:11 Later, ¹⁰  the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’ ¹¹  25:12 But he replied, ¹²  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹³  I do not know you!’

Matthew 25:21

25:21 His master answered, ¹⁴  ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Isaiah 48:1-2

The Lord Appeals to the Exiles

48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, ¹⁵ 

you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’

and are descended from Judah, ¹⁶ 

who take oaths in the name of the Lord,

and invoke ¹⁷  the God of Israel –

but not in an honest and just manner. ¹⁸ 

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ¹⁹ 

they trust in ²⁰  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Mark 9:47

9:47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! ²¹  It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have ²²  two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Mark 10:23-24

10:23 Then ²³  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, ²⁴  “Children, how hard it is ²⁵  to enter the kingdom of God!

Luke 18:25

18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ²⁶  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁷  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ²⁸  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 14:22

14:22 They strengthened ²⁹  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ³⁰  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ³¹  of God through many persecutions.” ³² 

Hebrews 4:6

4:6 Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience.

[18:3]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[18:3]  ² sn The point of the comparison become like little children has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit, as well as willingness to be dependent and receive from others, than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[18:3]  ³ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[19:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “I say to you.”

[19:24]  ⁵ tc A few late witnesses (579 1424 pc) read κάμιλον (kamilon, “rope”) for κάμηλον (kamhlon, “camel”), either through accidental misreading of the text or intentionally so as to soften Jesus’ words.

[19:24]  ⁶ sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle. (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 was saying rhetorically that it is impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom, unless God (v. 26) intervenes.

[21:31]  ⁷ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ⁹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[25:11]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Open to us.”

[25:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “But answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “His master said to him.”

[48:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”

[48:1]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.

[48:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”

[48:1]  ²² tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”

[48:2]  ²² tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

[48:2]  ²³ tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”

[9:47]  ²⁵ tn Grk “throw it out.”

[9:47]  ²⁶ tn Grk “than having.”

[10:23]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:24]  ³¹ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:24]  ³² tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 2427 Ï lat sy) have here “for those who trust in riches” (τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ [τοῖς] χρήμασιν, tou" pepoiqota" epi [toi"] crhmasin); W has πλούσιον (plousion) later in the verse, producing the same general modification on the dominical saying (“how hard it is for the rich to enter…”). But such qualifications on the Lord’s otherwise harsh and absolute statements are natural scribal expansions, intended to soften the dictum. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א B Δ Ψ sa), lack any such qualifications. That W lacks the longer expansion and only has πλούσιον suggests that its archetype agreed with א B here; its voice should be heard with theirs. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is preferred.

[18:25]  ³⁴ 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.

[3:5]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ³⁸ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[14:22]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

[14:22]  ⁴¹ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

[14:22]  ⁴² sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

[14:22]  ⁴³ tn Or “sufferings.”