camel through a needle's eye, a

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camel through the eye of a needle

Used as part of a comparison to indicate that something is impossible or extremely difficult to accomplish. Taken from the passage in the Bible (Luke 18:25), "For 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." You'd have an easier time getting a camel through the eye of a needle than getting them to agree on the issue.
See also: camel, eye, needle, of, through
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

camel through a needle's eye, a

An impossibility. The whole phrase, which comes from the Gospels of St. Matthew (19:24) and St. Mark (10:25), states that 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. Variants appear in both Jewish religious writings and in the Islamic Koran. The thought is repeated by Shakespeare in Richard II (5.5): “It is as hard to come as for a camel to thread the postern of a small needle’s eye.”
See also: camel, through
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive ?
Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you.
THE EYE OF A NEEDLE. Jesus, like people in the Near East, often speaks in hyperboles.
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They include a sculpture of Buzz Aldrin in his spacesuit next to the US flag - constructed within the eye of a needle. While working on a grain of sand he would sometimes use the tremor caused by his own heartbeat as a jack hammer to chisel the tiny particle.
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The Lord once said "It is easier for a camel to get through an eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat19.24).
I expect it is humping around the millions on the rich man's back that stops him getting through the eye of a needle for his hump is preventing him from doing so.
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Engraver Graham Short, carved a Bible quote on a miniature fleck of gold in the eye of a needle, the Daily Star reported.
The engraving reads that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
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BEATLE legend John Lennon was recreated in miniature for a new exhibition of art small enough to fit in the eye of a needle.
The 52-year-old artist said: "It is a bust of Lennon in the eye of a needle and it is perfectly proportioned.
Artist focuses on Lennon's look; Beatles legend recreated in miniature for exhibition
If Jesus had said it would be easier for a gay guy to sashay through the eye of a needle than to get into heaven, we could understand why social conservatives become unhinged at the thought of gays having constitutional rights.
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The celebrated Taiwanese miniature sculptor presented his Six Pandas In The Eye Of A Needle, which took him four painstaking months to complete, before a thrilled crowd in Taipei.
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It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.' And the others reply, "Who then can be saved?" And Jesus answers: "What is impossible for humans is possible for God" (Luke 18:24-26).
Do the impossible
Perhaps it is an exaggeration to describe it as a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle. But the nursing home market certainly looks pinched in an analysis published recently by Irving Levin Associates, a Stamford, CT marketing analysis firm.
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The collection includes a Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle and a sculpture of Marilyn Monroe, half the size of a full-stop, carved out of a diamond.
Massive deal for a mini collection
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