Blass— On the Greek Text of St. Mark's Gospel 333 



already, and they knew him not, but have done imto him -svhatsoeTer 

 they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of JMan suffer of them." 

 So, according to Mark, our Lord goes on saying : " The prophecy on 

 Elias, in its true sense, has also been fulfilled " ; for Elias, that is to 

 say John the Baptist, has come and has effected that restoring and 

 preparing which he was to effect, but which is quite different from 

 the worldly ideas of the scribes. 



I shall now call your attention to a more difiicult problem of 

 textual criticism. In ch. x. 23 ff., the well-known words are : "How 

 hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 

 . . . Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter 

 into the kingdom of God ! It is easier for a camel to go through the 

 eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of 

 God." After these three sayings, we must wonder to read the words 

 of the astonished disciples: "Who then can be saved?" Why, of 

 course, the poor. But there are various readings. In the first place, 

 the second saying is to be purified of an interpolation, which has been 

 done, according to the best authorities, in W. and H's Greek text 

 (but still not in the Eevised Yersion) : " Childi'en, how hard is it to 

 enter into the kingdom of God," without the words, " for them that 

 trust in riches." In this way the second sentence becomes general. 

 But the third remains special ; and the difficulty becomes even 

 greater. Well, then, we must invert the order, in accordance 

 with D and other Western authority, and make the third sentence 

 come in the second place, and the second in the third. There 

 is also in D a change in the construction of the third sentence, 

 so that it suits the first in form: "How hard/y shall they" — 

 "More easi/y shall a camel" — " Children, how hard is it." I feel 

 quite sure that this order is right, the more so as there are between the 

 first and second sentences the words: "And the disciples were aston- 

 ished at his ivords,'" A.o-yots in the plural, distinctly implying (as it may 

 easily be established by comparing other passages) that there were 

 onginally before this more sayings than one, namely the first and the 

 third. Now, is this all? J^ot yet. I seem to have decided for D against 

 B, and yet I have a strong suspicion that both are right, and both aie 

 wrong. How can that be ? and how may we obtain a still better text ? 

 By making four sentences instead of three, tlie first two special, the 

 last two general. " How hard/y shall they that have riches" — "More 

 easi/y shall a camel — than a rich man." — "How hard is it to 

 enter." — " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" 

 — "Who then can be saved?" The last sentences were, by way of 



