Lukas 18:25

18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ¹  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Lukas 9:58

9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ²  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ³ 

Lukas 6:39

6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? ⁴  Won’t they both fall ⁵  into a pit?

Lukas 8:31

8:31 And they began to beg ⁶  him not to order ⁷  them to depart into the abyss. ⁸ 

Lukas 16:26

16:26 Besides all this, ⁹  a great chasm ¹⁰  has been fixed between us, ¹¹  so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

[18:25]  ¹ sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle, one of the smallest items one might deal with on a regular basis, in contrast to the biggest animal of the region. (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 is saying rhetorically that this is impossible, unless God (v. 27) intervenes.

[9:58]  ² tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[9:58]  ³ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

[6:39]  ⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can he?”).

[6:39]  ⁵ sn The picture of a blind man leading a blind man is a warning to watch who one follows: Won’t they both fall into a pit? The sermon has been about religious choices and reacting graciously to those who oppose the followers of Jesus. Here Jesus’ point was to be careful who you follow and where they are taking you.

[8:31]  ⁶ tn One could also translate the imperfect tense here with a repetitive force like “begged him repeatedly.”

[8:31]  ⁷ tn Or “command.”

[8:31]  ⁸ tn This word, ἄβυσσος (abusso"), is a term for the place where the dead await the judgment. It also could hold hostile spirits according to Jewish belief (Jub. 5:6-7; 1 En. 10:4-6; 18:11-16).

[16:26]  ⁹ tn Grk “And in all these things.” There is no way Lazarus could carry out this request even if divine justice were not involved.

[16:26]  ¹⁰ sn The great chasm between heaven and hell is impassable forever. The rich man’s former status meant nothing now.

[16:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “between us and you.”