The term "hardly" is not frequently used in the Bible, but it conveys a sense of difficulty, improbability, or challenge when it does appear. In the context of Scripture, it often underscores the challenges faced by individuals in their spiritual journey or the difficulty of certain tasks or conditions.

Biblical Usage and Context

1. Difficulty in Entering the Kingdom of God: One of the most notable uses of the concept of "hardly" is found in the teachings of Jesus regarding wealth and the Kingdom of God. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus remarks on the difficulty for the rich to enter the Kingdom: "Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:25). This hyperbolic statement emphasizes the spiritual challenges that wealth can pose, suggesting that reliance on material riches can hinder one's spiritual progress and dependence on God.

2. Human Limitations and Divine Possibility: The notion of "hardly" also highlights human limitations contrasted with divine possibilities. In the same passage in Luke, when the disciples express astonishment at Jesus' teaching about wealth, He responds, "What is impossible with man is possible with God" (Luke 18:27). This underscores the belief that while certain things may seem difficult or improbable from a human perspective, they are achievable through divine intervention and grace.

3. Moral and Ethical Challenges: The concept of "hardly" can also be applied to the moral and ethical challenges faced by believers. The Apostle Paul, in his letters, often speaks of the struggle against sin and the difficulty of living a life that is pleasing to God. For instance, in Romans 7:15, Paul candidly shares his personal struggle: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" . This passage reflects the internal conflict and the arduous nature of striving for holiness in a fallen world.

4. Perseverance in Faith: The challenges implied by "hardly" also call for perseverance and steadfastness in faith. The Epistle to the Hebrews encourages believers to endure hardships as discipline, viewing them as opportunities for growth and maturity in faith: "No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11). This perspective encourages believers to view difficulties as part of their spiritual development.

Theological Implications

The use of "hardly" in Scripture serves as a reminder of the inherent challenges in the Christian life. It calls believers to recognize their dependence on God's grace and power to overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable by human effort alone. The term also invites reflection on the priorities and attachments that may hinder one's relationship with God, urging a focus on spiritual rather than material wealth.

In summary, while the term "hardly" may not appear frequently in the biblical text, its implications are profound, touching on themes of difficulty, divine possibility, moral struggle, and the necessity of perseverance in the life of faith.1. (adv.) In a hard or difficult manner; with difficulty.

2. (adv.) Unwillingly; grudgingly.

3. (adv.) Scarcely; barely; not quite; not wholly.

4. (adv.) Severely; harshly; roughly.

5. (adv.) Confidently; hardily.

6. (adv.) Certainly; surely; indeed.

HARD; HARDINESS; HARDDINESS; HARDLY

hard, har'-di-nes, hard'-nes, hard'-li (qasheh, pala'; skleros): The senses in which hard is used may be distinguished as:

(1) "Firm," "stiff," opposite to soft: Job 41:24, yatsaq, "to be firm," "his heart. as hard as a piece of the nether millstone," the Revised Version (British and American) "firm"; Ezekiel 3:7, qasheh, "sharp," "hard of heart"; chazaq, "firm," "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead"; Jeremiah 5:3, "They have made their faces harder than a rock"; Proverbs 21:29, `azaz, "to make strong," "hard," "impudent," "a wicked man hardeneth his face"; Proverbs 13:15 probably belongs here also where 'ethan is translated "hard": "The way of the transgressor is hard," the English Revised Version "The way of the treacherous is rugged"; the Hebrew word means, "lasting," "firm," poet. "rocks" (the earth's foundations, Micah 6:2), and the meaning seems to be, not that the way (path) of transgressors, or the treacherous (Delitzsch has "uncultivated"), is hard (rocky) to them, but that their way, or mode of acting, is hard, unsympathetic, unkind, "destitute of feeling in things which, as we say, would soften a stone" (Delitzsch on passage); also Matthew 25:24, skleros, "stiff," "thou art a hard man"; The Wisdom of Solomon 11:4, skleros, "hard stone," the Revised Version (British and American) "flinty rock," margin "the steep rock."

(2) "Sore," "trying," "painful," qasheh (Exodus 1:14, "hard service"; Deuteronomy, 26:6 2 Samuel 3:39 Psalm 60:3 Isaiah 14:3); qashah "to have it hard" (Genesis 35:16, 17 Deuteronomy 15:18); `athaq, "stiff" (Psalm 94:4 the King James Version, "They utter and speak hard things"); skleros (John 6:60, "This is a hard saying"-hard to accept, hard in its nature; Acts 9:5 the King James Version; Acts 26:14 Jude 1:15, "hard speeches"; The Wisdom of Solomon 19:13).

(3) "Heavy," "pressing hard," kabhedh, "weighty" (Ezekiel 3:5, 6, "a people of a strange speech and of a hard language," the Revised Version margin (Hebrew) "deep of lip and heavy of tongue"); camakh, "to lay" (Psalm 88:7, "Thy wrath lieth hard upon me").

(4) "Difficult," "hard to do," "know," etc., pala', "difficult to be done" (Genesis 18:14, "Is anything too hard for Yahweh?"; Jeremiah 32:17, 27 Deuteronomy 17:8 2 Samuel 13:2); qasheh (Exodus 18:26, "hard causes"); qashah (Deuteronomy 1:17 2 Kings 2:10); chidhah, "something twisted," "involved," "an enigma"; compare Judges 14:14 (1 Kings 10:1 2 Chronicles 9:1, "to prove Solomon with hard questions"); 'ahidhan, Aramaic (Daniel 5:12); duskolos, literally, "difficult about food," "hard to please," hence, "difficult to accomplish" (Mark 10:24, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God"); dusnoetos, "hard to be understood" (Hebrews 5:11 2 Peter 3:16; compare Ecclesiasticus 3:21, "things too hard for thee," chalepos).

(5) "Close," or "near to" (hard by), naghash, "to come nigh" (Judges 9:52, the American Standard Revised Version "near"); dabhaq and dabheq, "to follow hard after" (Judges 20:45 Psalm 63:8, etc.); 'etsel, "near" (1 Kings 21:1); le'ummath, "over against" (Leviticus 3:9); `adh, "to" "even to" (1 Chronicles 19:4, the King James Version "hard by," the Revised Version (British and American) "even to").

Hardiness occurs in Judith 16:10 thrasos, the Revised Version (British and American) "boldness."

Hardness is the translation of mutsaq, "something poured out," "dust wetted," "running into clods" (Job 38:38), the Revised Version (British and American) "runneth into a mass"; "hardness of heart" occurs in the Gospels; in Mark 3:5, it is porosis, "hardness," "callousness"; Matthew 19:8 Mark 10:5; Mark 16:14, sklerokardia, "dryness," "stiffness of heart"; compare Ecclesiasticus 16:10; in Romans 2:5, it is sklerotes; in 2 Timothy 2:3 the King James Version we have, "Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," the Revised Version (British and American) "Suffer hardship with me" (corrected text), margin "Take thy part in suffering hardship" (kakopatheo, "to suffer evil").

Hardly occurs in the Old Testament (Exodus 13:15), "Pharaoh would hardly let us go," qashah, literally, "hardened to let us go," the Revised Version margin "hardened himself against letting us go"; "hardly bestead" (Isaiah 8:21) is the translation of qadshah, the American Standard Revised Version "sore distressed." In the New Testament "hardly" is the translation of duskolos, "hard to please," "difficult," meaning not scarcely or barely, but with difficulty (Matthew 19:23, "A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven," the Revised Version (British and American) "it is hard for"; Mark 10:23 Luke 18:24, "how hardly" ("with what difficulty")); of mogis, "with labor," "pain," "trouble" (Luke 9:39, "hardly departeth from him" ("painfully")); of molis "with toil and fatigue" (Acts 27:8, the Revised Version (British and American) "with difficulty"; The Wisdom of Solomon 9:16, "Hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth"; Ecclesiasticus 26:29, "A merchant shall hardly keep himself from wrong doing"; 29:6, "He shall hardly receive the half," in each instance the word is molis, but in the last two instances we seem to see the transition to "scarcely"; compare also Exodus 13:15).

The Revised Version has "too hard" for "hidden" (Deuteronomy 30:11, margin "wonderful"); "hardness" for "boldness" (of face) (Ecclesiastes 8:1); for "sorrow" (Lamentations 3:65); "deal hardly with me" for "make yourselves strong to me" (Job 19:3); omits "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:5, corrected text); "hardship" for "trouble" (2 Timothy 2:9).

W. L. Walker

HARDLY; HARDNESS

See HARD.

3425. mogis -- hardly.
... 3424, 3425. mogis. 3426 . hardly. ... Word Origin another reading for molis, qv.
hardly. Adverb from a primary mogos (toil); with difficulty -- hardly. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3425.htm - 6k

1423. duskolos -- with difficulty
... with difficulty. Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: duskolos Phonetic Spelling:
(doos-kol'-oce) Short Definition: with difficulty, hardly Definition: with ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1423.htm - 6k

3433. molis -- with difficulty
... with difficulty. Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: molis Phonetic Spelling:
(mol'-is) Short Definition: with difficulty, hardly Definition: with difficulty ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3433.htm - 7k

182. akatastatos -- unstable
... akatastatos Phonetic Spelling: (ak-at-as'-tat-os) Short Definition: unsettled, unstable
Definition: unsettled, unstable (though these are hardly strong enough ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/182.htm - 7k

2969. komopolis -- a country town
... 2969 (from 2968 , "village, town" and 4172 , "a city") -- a city with (legal) status.
A ("village, unwalled town") was hardly a "city" as we know it. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2969.htm - 7k

4458. pos -- at all
... at all NASB Word Usage perhaps (4), somehow (3). hardly, by any means,
perhaps. Adverb from the base of pou; an enclitic particle ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4458.htm - 7k

3424. mogilalos -- speaking with difficulty
... having an impediment in his speech. From mogis and laleo; hardly talking, ie Dumb
(tongue-tied) -- having an impediment in his speech. see GREEK mogis. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3424.htm - 6k

389. ak -- surely, howbeit
... derivation, see aken Definition surely, howbeit NASB Word Usage altogether (1),
certainly (1), completely (1), exactly (2), except (1), hardly* (1), however (9 ...
/hebrew/389.htm - 6k

6031. anah -- to be bowed down or afflicted
... or intransitive (in various applications, as follows) -- abase self, afflict(-ion,
self), answer (by mistake for anah), chasten self, deal hardly with, defile ...
/hebrew/6031.htm - 6k

3318. yatsa -- to go or come out
... 1), go outside (2), go straight (1), goes (10), goes forth (9), going (20), going
forth (8), gone (23), gone forth (10), grow (1), grows (1), hardly* (1), has ...
/hebrew/3318.htm - 8k

The Pelagians Can Hardly Venture to Place Concupiscence in ...
... Book II. Chapter 59 [XXXV.]"The Pelagians Can Hardly Venture to Place
Concupiscence in Paradise Before the Commission of Sin. ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 59 xxxv the pelagians can.htm

What Nonsense is this Out of which they Fabricate a Charge against ...
... 20. What nonsense is this out of which they fabricate a charge against me! It seems
hardly worth while to notice it. ... It seems hardly worth while to notice it. ...
/.../20 what nonsense is this.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... that it was because the face of Jesus shone with remaining traces of transfiguration
glory, as did that of Moses (Exodus 34:29), but this can hardly have been ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods 5.htm

"Having Begun in the Spirit"
... Now, it is to be feared that there are many Christians who hardly know
that when they believed, they received the Holy Spirit. A ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/murray/absolute surrender/having begun in the spirit.htm

Introductory Notice to the Early Liturgies.
... handled. The liturgiologist finds his researches freshened by etymologies
he had hardly thought of, here literally rendered. Of ...
/.../various/early liturgies/introductory notice to the early.htm

We May Commence Our Inquiry into the Subject by Noticing...
... We can hardly suppose it possible that an Infinite Being, in some sense, as we suppose
will be generally allowed, the Governor of the world, should not have an ...
/.../jerram/thoughts on a revelation/section 1 we may commence.htm

The Apology of Rufinus.
... of Origen which he introduced into this Commentary about the fall of souls out of
a previous state of bliss into human bodies are set down with hardly a word ...
/.../the apology of rufinus.htm

Grace Abounding
... Some persons are very generous to their own relations, but here, again, they can
hardly be said to be free, because the tie of blood constrains them. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/grace abounding.htm

Of Four Kinds of Fever Wherewith a Man May be Tormented
... On all things they will ask advice, but hardly ever do they act upon it. ... Others
they teach, but will themselves hardly be taught or reproved. ...
/.../john/the adornment of the spritual marriage/chapter xxxii of four kinds.htm

Beside the Still Waters.
... But we cannot watch the slow upheaval of a long line of coast, where the fisherman
hardly knows at the end of a lifetime whether the sea has drawn back or his ...
/.../beard/beside the still waters/beside the still waters.htm

Sermon (1 Occurrence)
... Moreover, it is hardly probable that such an address of Jesus would be recorded
at the time of its delivery or would be remembered in detail. ...
/s/sermon.htm - 39k

Immortal (3 Occurrences)
... The Resurrection (4) The Wicked Also Raised (5) Eternal Life 2. Contrasts LITERATURE
1. Preliminary-Need of Definition and Distinction: In hardly any subject ...
/i/immortal.htm - 33k

Immortality (6 Occurrences)
... The Resurrection (4) The Wicked Also Raised (5) Eternal Life 2. Contrasts LITERATURE
1. Preliminary-Need of Definition and Distinction: In hardly any subject ...
/i/immortality.htm - 35k

Malachi (2 Occurrences)
... The form mal'akhi, signifies "my messenger"; it occurs again in 3:1; compare 2:7.
But this form of itself would hardly be appropriate as a proper name without ...
/m/malachi.htm - 21k

Scarcely (14 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (adv.) With difficulty; hardly; scantly; barely; but
just. 2. (adv.) Frugally; penuriously. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/s/scarcely.htm - 10k

Gospels
... write his Gospel. Whether any of these ante-Lukan documents are among those
still known to us is hardly longer doubtful. Scholars of ...
/g/gospels.htm - 73k

Esdraelon
... soldiers. The fertility of the plain is extraordinary: hardly anywhere
can the toil of the husbandman find a greater reward. The ...
/e/esdraelon.htm - 15k

Keys (2 Occurrences)
... The thought connects itself immediately with Matthew 16:19, but it is hardly correct
to say that it originates there, for the controversy is one that grows out ...
/k/keys.htm - 32k

Jude (4 Occurrences)
... Romans 1:1 Titus 1:1). Jude 1:17, 18 speaks of the "apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
that they said to you"-language which an apostle would hardly use of his ...
/j/jude.htm - 40k

Hellenism
... When their southward movemerit from Illyria occurred, and by what causes it was
brought about, we do not know; but it can hardly have long antedated the ...
/h/hellenism.htm - 26k

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