Mark 10:24, hard for whom to enter the kingdom?
Mark 10:24 appears both without a qualifier, making entry hard in general, and with “for those who trust in riches.” The wording changes whether the saying addresses everyone or the trusting rich.
The APB text at this verse
The manuscripts, editions, and versions
The committee record at this verse
The APB's translation committee works blind: it is never told it is translating the Bible, never given a book name or a verse number, and it never sees the witnesses above. Since revision 3.5, the places where the manuscripts disagree are decided before translation by three readers, Grok 4.3, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Fable 5.1, who see the readings and the witnesses by age and class but never a reference or a manuscript name. Whatever was done at this verse was done on the language and the evidence alone, and the record is public.
“The base text reads (nothing). The copies also carry τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition; later majority tradition], τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ τοῖς χρήμασιν [greek majuscule; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. The default wording has substantially stronger early support, and the longer readings are more readily explained as clarifying expansions.”
“The base text reads ἐστιν. The copies also carry τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν [greek majuscule; early greek manuscript tradition; later majority tradition]; the committee kept the base text. Default wording chosen; evidence favors it but is not overwhelming.”
The APB 3.5 textual decision kept the base text at this verse. Its note states, “The base text reads ἐστιν.” It further explains, “The default wording has substantially stronger early support, and the longer readings are more readily explained as clarifying expansions.” The three blind readers saw readings and witness information only by class and date, without a reference, book name, or manuscript name. The pericope audit verdict is “clean.”
The argument for each reading
If the saying is absolute
Reading A leaves the sentence at ἐστιν, so the difficulty of entering the kingdom is expressed without an added group named in the verse. Westcott-Hort prints this form, and the apparatus gives `WH NA28` for ἐστιν. The APB 3.5 decision also retained the base wording. Its note says, “Default wording chosen; evidence favors it but is not overwhelming.” On this reading, the surrounding pericope still speaks about money and a rich person, but Mark 10:24 itself does not specify that the difficulty belongs only to those who trust in riches. The broader wording can therefore be read as a deliberately unqualified address to the disciples.
If only the trusting rich
Reading B adds τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν, giving the saying a stated object: those who trust in riches. Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform prints the phrase, and the apparatus records `Treg RP` for the addition. This wording fits closely with the preceding reference to those having money and the following reference to a rich person. It also makes the immediate concern more specific: wealth itself is not described in the added words as the decisive issue, whereas trust placed in riches is. The APB 3.5 note acknowledges that copies carry the longer wording, including a form with ἐπὶ τοῖς χρήμασιν.
The uncertainty concerns the scope supplied by the added qualifier: whether Mark 10:24 addresses entry in general or explicitly those who trust in riches. The packet records support for both forms, while the committee’s judgment is qualified rather than absolute. This variant does not by itself settle every question about wealth, trust, discipleship, or the kingdom. Such doctrines rest on many passages, and the surrounding verses remain part of the same pericope in either reading.
Common questions
Does Mark 10:24 say “those who trust in riches”?
Some copies add τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ χρήμασιν, “for those who trust in riches.” Other witnesses, including WH and NA28 in the apparatus, end the wording at ἐστιν.
What difference does the added phrase make?
Without the phrase, the saying is unqualified in Mark 10:24. With it, the difficulty is explicitly directed toward those who trust in riches. The surrounding pericope still includes money and a rich person.
What did the APB committee print at Mark 10:24?
The APB printed the unqualified wording: “Children, how difficult it is to enter toward the kingdom of God!” Its 3.5 decision says the committee kept the base text.
Related entries
Witness readings for critical editions are quoted from the SBLGNT apparatus (CC BY 4.0); Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible). Readings of ancient manuscripts and versions are cited as published scholarly fact with their sources linked above. The page does not declare which reading is original.
The registry gives no verdict
The registry does not say which reading is original. Each page lists the witnesses, shows what the committee did with the same text, and leaves the judgment to the reader.