Bible Strands
Luke 18:24
Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples immediately after a wealthy ruler departs sorrowful from their conversation about selling all his possessions.
The words — Ἰδὼν (Idōn) literally means "having seen," and the Greek phrase for the man's condition uses verbs that render as "became sorrowful."
The thread — This warning about wealth runs parallel to Mark 10:23 and echoes the cautionary wisdom of Proverbs 11:28 and Proverbs 30:9.
Why it lands — The text states that entering the kingdom of God is exceptionally difficult for the rich, requiring a reader to identify what they trust more than divine provision.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Cross-references
- Proverbs 11:28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
- Proverbs 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
- Mark 10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Psalms 10:3 For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
- Matthew 19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
- 2 Corinthians 7:9 yet now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
- 1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- Deuteronomy 6:10 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build,
- Deuteronomy 8:11 Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day.