²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^(A)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁹ But ^(A)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(B)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(C)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(D)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(A)the cares of ^(B)the world and ^(C)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(A)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(B)miseries that are coming upon you. ^2 (C)Your riches have rotted and ^(D)your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(E)You have laid up treasure ^(F)in the last days. ⁴ Behold, ^(G)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(H)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(I)the Lord of hosts.

²⁴ Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, ^(A)“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter ^(B)the kingdom of God!

²³ And Jesus ^(A)looked around and said to his disciples, ^(B)“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter ^(C)the kingdom of God!”

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(A)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[a] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ^(A)born ^(B)again^[a] he cannot ^(C)see the kingdom of God.”