Matius 9:5

9:5 Which is easier, ¹  to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

Matius 19:24

19:24 Again I say, ²  it is easier for a camel ³  to go through the eye of a needle ⁴  than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Matius 11:30

11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”

Matius 13:29

13:29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

Matius 5:25

5:25 Reach agreement ⁵  quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, ⁶  or he ⁷  may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison.

Matius 18:10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Matius 7:13

The Narrow Gate

7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

Matius 10:15

10:15 I tell you the truth, ⁸  it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah ⁹  on the day of judgment than for that town!

Matius 11:22

11:22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!

Matius 11:24

11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ¹⁰  on the day of judgment than for you!”

Matius 15:32

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

15:32 Then Jesus called the ¹¹  disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.”

Matius 13:21

13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; ¹²  when ¹³  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Matius 16:22

16:22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: ¹⁴  “God forbid, ¹⁵  Lord! This must not happen to you!”

[9:5]  ¹ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

[19:24]  ² tn Grk “I say to you.”

[19:24]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[5:25]  ⁵ tn Grk “Make friends.”

[5:25]  ⁶ tn The words “to court” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[5:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “the accuser.”

[10:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:15]  ⁹ sn The allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment.

[11:24]  ¹⁰ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[15:32]  ¹¹ tc ‡ Although the external evidence is not great (א W Θ 700 pc), the internal evidence for the omission of αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after “disciples” is fairly strong. The pronoun may have been added by way of clarification. NA²⁷, however, includes the pronoun, on the basis of the much stronger external evidence.

[13:21]  ¹² tn Grk “is temporary.”

[13:21]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “began to rebuke him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[16:22]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Merciful to you.” A highly elliptical expression: “May God be merciful to you in sparing you from having to undergo [some experience]” (L&N 88.78). A contemporary English equivalent is “God forbid!”