And the disciples were astonished ( ἐθαμβοῦντο)—literally, were amazed at his words. The Greek word here implies wilderment. It is used again below at Mark 10:32. We find it also at Mark 1:27. This doctrine of our Lord was so new and strange to them.
They had been accustomed to think little of the danger, and much of the advances of wealth. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children how hard is it for them that trust in riches enter into the kingdom of God!
He the enduring expression of "children" ( τέκνα). He and takes off somewhat of the edge of the seventy of the expression, by changing the form of it into the words," how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"
There is some authority for omitting the words. "for them that trot in riches;" so to reduce the sentence to the simple form, "How hard is it to enter into the kingdom of God!" Such is the reading in the two great uncial manuscripts, the Sinaitic and the Vatican.
But on the whole the balance of evidence is in favor of that which was adopted in the Authorized Version, and has been retained by the Revisers of 1881; and it is reasonable to believe that our Lord qualified the former expression, in order to relieve the minds of his amazed disciples.