Matthew 19:21-24

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Matthew 19:21 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
2. Matthew 19:21 sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
3. Matthew 19:22 tn Grk “he had many possessions.” This term (κτῆμα, ktēma) is often used for land as a possession.
4. Matthew 19:23 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
5. Matthew 19:24 tn Grk “I say to you.”
6. Matthew 19:24 tc A few, mostly late, witnesses (579 1424 al arm Cyr) read κάμιλον (kamilon, “rope”) for κάμηλον (kamēlon, “camel”), either through accidental misreading of the text or intentionally so as to soften Jesus’ words.
7. Matthew 19:24 sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle. (Although the story of a small gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” has been widely circulated and may go back as far as the middle ages, there is no evidence that such a gate ever existed.) Jesus was saying rhetorically that it is impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom, unless God (v. 26) intervenes.