Mark 10:23

New Century Version

Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, "How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth

King James Version (1611)
And Iesus looked round about, and saith vnto his disciples, How hardly shall they that haue riches enter into the kingdome of God?

King James Version
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

English Standard Version
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

New American Standard Bible
And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"

Amplified Bible
Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who are wealthy [and cling to possessions and status as security] to enter the kingdom of God!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"

Legacy Standard Bible
And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!"

Berean Standard Bible
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

Contemporary English Version
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "It's hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom!"

Complete Jewish Bible
Yeshua looked around and said to his talmidim, "How hard it is going to be for people with wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!"

Darby Translation
And Jesus looking around says to his disciples, How difficultly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jesus looked at his followers and said to them, "It will be very hard for a rich person to enter God's kingdom!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Iesus looked round about, & sayd vnto his disciples, Howe hardly doe they that haue riches, enter into the kingdome of God!

George Lamsa Translation
Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said to them, How hard it is for those who have wealth, to enter into the kingdom of God!

Good News Translation
Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, "How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!"

Lexham English Bible
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who possess wealth to enter into the kingdom of God!"

Literal Translation
And having looked around, Jesus said to His disciples, How hardly those having riches will enter into the kingdom of God!

American Standard Version
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Bible in Basic English
And Jesus, looking round about, said to his disciples, How hard it is for those who have wealth to come into the kingdom of God!

Hebrew Names Version
Yeshua looked around, and said to his talmidim, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"

International Standard Version
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to get into the kingdom of God!"Matthew 19:23; Luke 18:24;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And Jeshu beheld his disciples, and said to them, How hard to those who have riches to enter the kingdom of Aloha !

Murdock Translation
And Jesus looked upon his disciples, and said to them: How hard for those who possess wealth, to enter into the kingdom of God !

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when Iesus had loked rounde about, he sayde vnto his disciples: Howe hardly shall they that haue riches, enter into the kyngdome of God?

English Revised Version
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

World English Bible
Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And Jesus looking round said to his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God?

Weymouth's New Testament
Then looking round on His disciples Jesus said, "With how hard a struggle will the possessors of riches enter the Kingdom of God!"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jhesus bihelde aboute, and seide to hise disciplis, Hou hard thei that han ritchessis schulen entre in to the kyngdom of God.

Update Bible Version
And Jesus looked round about, and says to his disciples, How hardly shall those that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Webster's Bible Translation
And Jesus looked around, and saith to his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

New English Translation
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

New King James Version
Matthew 19:23-30; Luke 18:24-30">[xr] Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"

New Living Translation
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!"

New Life Bible
Jesus looked around Him. He said to His followers, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the holy nation of God!"

New Revised Standard
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, looking around, Jesus saith unto his disciples - With what difficulty, shall, they who have money, enter, into the kingdom of God!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jesus looking round about, saith to his disciples: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Revised Standard Version
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And Iesus loked rounde aboute and sayde vnto his disciples: what an harde thinge is it for them that have riches to entre into the kyngdome of God.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jesus having looked round, saith to his disciples, `How hardly shall they who have riches enter into the reign of God!'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Iesus loked aboute him, and sayde vnto his disciples: O how hardly shal the ryche come into ye kyngdome of God?

Mace New Testament (1729)
then Jesus looking round about, said to his disciples, how difficult a thing is it for those who have riches to enter into the gospel kingdom!

THE MESSAGE
Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all' to enter God's kingdom?" The disciples couldn't believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: "You can't imagine how difficult. I'd say it's easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for the rich to get into God's kingdom."

Simplified Cowboy Version
As the man walked away with his tail between his legs, Jesus told his cowboys, "A man who won't let go of the world will never be able to fit through the entrance to God's place."

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ As Jesus started to leave, a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, "Good teacher, what must I do to have life forever?" ¹⁸ Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ¹⁹ You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.'" ²⁰ The man said, "Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was a boy." ²¹ Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, "There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me." ²² He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was rich. ²³ Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, "How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" ²⁴ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, "My children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." ²⁶ The followers were even more surprised and said to each other, "Then who can be saved?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

looked: Mark 3:5, Mark 5:32

How: Matthew 19:23-26, Luke 18:24, 1 Corinthians 1:26, James 2:5, James 4:4

enter: Mark 10:15, Matthew 18:3, John 3:5, 2 Peter 1:11

Reciprocal: Psalms 62:10 - riches Matthew 7:21 - shall Matthew 13:22 - the care Mark 15:43 - an Luke 20:17 - beheld

Cross-References

Job 1:1
A man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was an honest and innocent man; he honored God and stayed away from evil.

Jeremiah 25:20
and all the foreigners there; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (the kings of the cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod);

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Jesus looked round about,.... To see what effect the discourse he had with the young man, and the consequence of it, had upon his disciples; as also to raise their attention to what he was about, to say:

and saith unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! the Gospel dispensation, by embracing the doctrines, and submitting to the ordinances of it;

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage illustrated in the notes at Matthew 19:16-30.

Mark 10:17

Gone forth - From the place where he had been teaching.

Into the way - Into the road or path on his journey.

Running - Thus showing the intensity with which he desired to know the way of life. Zeal to know the way to be saved is proper, nor is it possible that it should be too intense if well directed. Nothing else is so important, and nothing demands, therefore, so much effort and haste.

Mark 10:19

Defraud not - Do not take away your neighbor’s property by fraud or dishonesty. To “cheat” or “defraud,” supposes a covetous desire of a neighbor’s property, and is usually attended with “falsehood” or “false witness” against a neighbor in obtaining it. It is thus a violation of the ninth and tenth commandments; and our Saviour very properly, therefore, “condensed the two,” and expressed their substance in this - not to defraud. It is, besides, expressly forbidden in Leviticus 19:13; “Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor.”

Mark 10:21

Jesus beholding him, loved him - What occurred afterward showed that the young man did not love the Saviour, or was not a true disciple; so that this expression denotes simply natural affection, or means that Jesus was pleased with his amiableness, his morality, and his “external” regard for the law of God. At the same time, this was entirely consistent with deep sorrow that he would not give his heart to God, and with deep abhorrence of such a love of the world as to blind the mind to the beauty of true religion, and to lead to the rejection of the Messiah and the destruction of the soul.

One thing thou lackest - When the young man came to Jesus he asked him, “What lack I yet?” Matthew 19:20. This “question” Mark has omitted, but he has retained the “answer.” The answer means, there is “one thing” yet wanting. Though all that you have said should be “true,” yet, to make the system complete, or to show that you “really” are disposed to keep the commands of God, go and sell your property. See whether you love “God” more than you do your “wealth.” By doing that you will show that your love of God is supreme; that your obedience is not merely “external” and “formal,” but “sincere” and “real;” the thing now “lacking” will be made up.

Mark 10:24

Children - An expression of affection, perhaps also implying a reproof that their slowness of understanding was like that of children. When they should have seen at once the truth of what he said, they were slow to learn it. It became necessary, therefore, to “repeat” what he had said.

How hard - With how much difficulty.

Mark 10:26

Out of measure - Very much, or exceedingly. The Greek means no more than this.

Mark 10:30

An hundred-fold - One hundred times as much.

In this time - In this life. In the time that he forsakes all.

Houses ... - This cannot be taken literally, as promising a hundred times as many “mothers, sisters,” etc. It means, evidently, that the loss shall be a hundred times “compensated” or made up; or that, in the possession of religion, we have a hundred times the “value” of all we forsake. This consists in the pardon of sin, in the favor of God, in peace of conscience, in support in trials and in death, and in raising up “friends” in the place of those who are left - “spiritual brethren, and sisters, and mothers,” etc. And this corresponds to the experience of all who ever became Christians. At the same time. it is true that godliness is profitable “for all things,” having the promise of the life that is, as well as of that which is to come. See the notes at 1 Timothy 4:8. “The favor of God” is the security for every blessing. Obedience to his law secures industry, temperance, chastity, economy, prudence, health, and the confidence of the world - all indispensable to success in life, and all connected. commonly, with success. Though the wicked “sometimes” prosper, yet the “surest” way of prosperity is to fear God and keep his commandments. Thus will all “needed” blessings descend on us “here,” and “eternal” blessings hereafter.

With persecutions - Persecutions, or the contempt of the world, and bodily sufferings on account of their religion, they “must” meet. Jesus did not conceal this; but he consoled them. He assured them that “amid” these, or perhaps it should be rendered “after” these, they should find friends and comfort. It is well to bear trial if “God” be our Friend. With the promises of the Bible in our hand, we may hail persecutions, and thank God that, amid so many sorrows, he has furnished such abundant consolations.