The Peshitta omits the initial conjunction καί / Et, beginning instead with the particle ܕܝܢ (dēn, 'but/now'), which functions as a discourse marker rather than a simple coordinating conjunction.
EN Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!”
ES Entonces Jesús, mirando alrededor, dice á sus discípulos: ¡Cuán difícilmente entrarán en el reino de Dios los que tienen riquezas!
ZH-HANS 耶稣周围一看,对门徒说:「有钱财的人进 神的国是何等地难哪!」
ZH-HANT 耶穌周圍一看,對門徒說:「有錢財的人進上帝的國是何等地難哪!」
The Peshitta omits the initial conjunction καί / Et, beginning instead with the particle ܕܝܢ (dēn, 'but/now'), which functions as a discourse marker rather than a simple coordinating conjunction.
The Peshitta inserts the discourse particle ܕܝܢ (dēn, 'but/now') to mark narrative transition, a common Syriac stylistic feature absent from both Greek and Latin witnesses.
Greek employs the definite article ὁ with Ἰησοῦς; Vulgate and Peshitta lack articles (Latin has no article system; Syriac uses the emphatic state ܝܫܘܥ without separate article).
Greek uses article + noun + possessive pronoun (τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ); Vulgate mirrors this with noun + possessive (discipulis suis); Peshitta employs a single bound form ܒܬܠܡܝܕܘܗܝ with pronominal suffix, a more compact Semitic construction.
The Vulgate inserts a colon to mark the transition to direct discourse, a punctuation convention absent from Greek and Peshitta manuscript traditions.
Greek and Peshitta use interrogative + adverb (πῶς δυσκόλως / ܟܡܐ ܥܛܠܐ, 'how difficultly'); Vulgate inverts to exclamatory adverb + adjective (Quam difficile, 'how difficult'), shifting from adverbial to adjectival construction.
Greek uses substantival article + article + noun + participle (οἱ τὰ χρήματα ἔχοντες, 'those having the riches'); Vulgate employs relative pronoun + noun + verb (qui pecunias habent, 'who have riches'); Peshitta uses demonstrative + existential + prepositional phrase + noun (ܠܐܝܠܝܢ ܕܐܝܬ ܠܗܘܢ ܢܟܣܐ, 'to those who there-is to-them possessions'), reflecting distinct syntactic strategies across the three traditions.
Greek uses preposition + article + noun + article + genitive (εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ); Vulgate mirrors with preposition + noun + genitive (in regnum Dei); Peshitta uses preposition + construct chain (ܠܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ), lacking articles but semantically equivalent.
Greek places the verb at the end (εἰσελεύσονται, future indicative); Peshitta positions the verb earlier in the clause (ܕܢܥܠܘܢ, imperfect with d- prefix); Vulgate places it at the end (introibunt, future), reflecting Greek word order but with Latin morphology.
The Vulgate adds an exclamation mark to heighten the rhetorical force of Jesus' statement, a punctuation choice not reflected in Greek or Peshitta manuscript traditions.