G1423 G1423
with difficulty, hardly; describing something achieved only through great effort or struggle
The adverb δυσκόλως (from δύσκολος, 'hard to please' or 'difficult') describes actions accomplished only with great difficulty. In the Synoptic Gospels it appears in Jesus' sobering statement about wealth and the kingdom—that it is extremely difficult for the rich to enter God's realm. The word carries a sense of near-impossibility, something achieved only through extraordinary effort or intervention, if at all.
Senses
1. sense 1 — All three occurrences appear in parallel Synoptic accounts of Jesus' teaching after the rich young ruler departs. Matthew 19:23, Mark 10:23, and Luke 18:24 record nearly identical statements: 'How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!' The context—disciples' astonishment and Jesus' metaphor of a camel going through a needle's eye—emphasizes that this difficulty borders on impossibility apart from God. The multilingual consistency (Spanish: difícilmente, French: difficilement, German: schwer) captures the adverbial force. The word choice signals not a minor obstacle but a fundamental incompatibility between trust in wealth and trust in God that requires divine intervention to overcome. 3×
AR["بِصُعوبَةٍ", "بِصُعُوبَةٍ"]·ben["কষ্টে", "কষ্টের-সাথে"]·DE["schwer", "δυσκόλως"]·EN["with-difficulty"]·FR["difficilement"]·heb["בְּקֹשִׁי", "קָשֶׁה"]·HI["कठिनाई-से", "मुशकिल-से"]·ID["sukarnya", "sulit", "sulitnya"]·IT["duskolos"]·jav["angel", "angelipun"]·KO["어렵게"]·PT["dificilmente"]·RU["трудно"]·ES["difícilmente"]·SW["ataingia", "kwa-shida"]·TR["güçlükle", "zor"]·urd["مشکل-سے"]
Related Senses
H7965 1. peace, absence of conflict (198×)H3467 1. save, deliver, rescue (Hifil active) (156×)H5127 1. flee, run away (Qal) (144×)G1515 1. peace, well-being, harmony (93×)H8002 1. peace offering(s) (87×)G4982 1. save spiritually, grant salvation (79×)H3444 1. salvation, deliverance (67×)H4422 1. Nifal: escape, flee (63×)H1272 1. flee, run away (Qal) (58×)H6869b 1. distress, trouble (57×)G4991 1. of salvation (46×)G2347 1. tribulation, affliction, distress (45×)H0983 1. security, safety, confidence (42×)H6031b 1. Piel: afflict, oppress (42×)H6040 1. affliction, misery, suffering (36×)H3468 1. salvation, deliverance (33×)G5343 1. flee, run away (28×)H3467 2. savior, deliverer (Hifil participle substantive) (28×)H8668 1. salvation, deliverance (27×)H8252 1. be quiet, be at rest (26×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Included with: δύσ-κολος, ον, (κόλον): __I of persons, properly hard to satisfy with food Refs 2nd c.AD+: but, generally, hard to please, discontented, fretful, peevish, Refs 5th c.BC+; of animals, intractable, Refs adverb δυσκόλως, ἔχειν, διακεῖσθαι πρός τιναRefs 5th c.BC+ __II of things, troublesome, harassing, δ. ἡ ἡνιόχησις Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, unpleasant, ἄν τι δ. συμβῇ Refs 4th c.BC+;…