Matthew 19:24

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples immediately after declaring that wealth obstructs entry into the kingdom. He reiterates the statement to underscore its absolute nature.

The words — The text uses eukopōteron (eukopōteron) to mean "easier for," establishing a strict comparative of difficulty. The preposition dia (dia) specifies physical passage "through" the needle's eye, framing the action as a spatial impossibility.

The thread — The identical hyperbolic comparison appears in Luke 18:25 and Mark 10:24. These parallel accounts place the warning within the broader Synoptic teaching on salvation and material attachment.

Why it lands — The verse states that human wealth cannot function as a mechanism for divine entry. It requires the reader to abandon reliance on financial status and acknowledge that salvation depends on factors beyond human control.

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

ΠάλινPalinAgain δὲdenow λέγωlegōI say ὑμῖν·huminto you;εὐκοπώτερόνeukopōteroneasier for ἐστινestin[it] is κάμηλονkamēlona camel διὰdiathrough [the]τρυπήματοςtrupēmatosan eye ῥαφίδοςrhaphidosof a needle διελθεῖνdieltheinto go through ἢēthan πλούσιονplousiona rich man εἰσελθεῖνeiseltheinto enter εἰςeisinto τὴνtēnthe βασιλείανbasileiankingdom τοῦtou<the>θεοῦ.¶theouof God.

King James Version

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Cross-references

John 5:44 How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Luke 18:25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10:24 And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.
Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 23:24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.