τὴν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 τὴν

   TÊN

   the
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστιν κάμηλον διὰ ⸀τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος ⸀εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον ⸂εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ⸃.

   eu-ko-PÔ-te-ron ES-tin KA-mê-lon di-A try-PÊ-ma-tos rha-PHI-dos ei-sel-THEIN Ê PLOO-si-on eis TÊN ba-si-LEI-an TOO the-OO

   easier it is a camel through an opening of a needle to enter than a rich man into the kingdom of {the} God
3. sentence🔊 πάλιν δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστιν κάμηλον διὰ ⸀τρυπήματος ῥαφίδος ⸀εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον ⸂εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ⸃.

   PA-lin DE LE-gô hy-MIN eu-ko-PÔ-te-ron ES-tin KA-mê-lon di-A try-PÊ-ma-tos rha-PHI-dos ei-sel-THEIN Ê PLOO-si-on eis TÊN ba-si-LEI-an TOO the-OO

   {and} again I say to you easier it is a camel through an opening of a needle to enter than a rich man into the kingdom of {the} God

Exegesis

The particle ē {ἢ | ḕ} introduces the second member of the comparison, plousion eis tēn basileian tou theou {πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ | ploú-si-on eis tḕn ba-si-leí-an toû the-oû}, where the accusative plousion functions as the logical subject of the infinitive “to enter,” and the prepositional phrase marks the goal “into the kingdom of God.” Greek word order places the hyperbolic picture first and the real-life application second, heightening rhetorical effect and underscoring the spiritual impossibility of the rich entering God’s reign on their own, which the English renderings preserve by maintaining the comparative “easier … than for a rich person to enter” pattern.