Matius 13:11

13:11 He replied, ¹  “You have been given ²  the opportunity to know ³  the secrets ⁴  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Matius 19:23-24

19:23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, ⁵  it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! 19:24 Again I say, ⁶  it is easier for a camel ⁷  to go through the eye of a needle ⁸  than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Matius 25:1

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

[13:11]  ¹ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ² tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ³ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[13:11]  sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[19:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[19:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “I say to you.”

[19:24]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.