In some Greek manuscripts the disciples is replaced by “his disciples.” But the difference is minor, since in such a construction the is equivalent to “his.” Moreover, some languages will require the form “his disciples.”
Were greatly astonished (New Jerusalem Bible “were astonished”) translates a verb plus adverb construction. New English Bible has “were amazed,” and Good News Translation “were completely amazed.” The adverb is literally “very” or “exceedingly”; here it is used to intensify the force of the verb, which is translated “were astonished” by Revised Standard Version in 7.28. Elsewhere the verb appears in 13.54; 22.33. As we described at the beginning of this section, the disciples believed that having riches was a sign of God’s approval, so that entry into God’s Kingdom was assured for the wealthy. Thus Jesus’ words came as a surprise, for if the rich couldn’t get in, how much more difficult would it be for them, poor men all! Translators may have “were completely taken aback,” “were disconcerted,” or “were surprised and confused.”
Who then can be saved? or something very similar, is found in most all translations. For languages which do not allow a passive construction, one may translate “Who then are the people whom God will save?” or “Who then are the people who will become God’s people?” or “How then is it possible for anyone to become one of God’s subjects?” or even “Is it possible, then, for God to save anyone?”
Saved sometimes causes readers to ask themselves “Saved from what?” To which the reply must be “Saved from destruction to having eternal life instead.” For this reason it is sometimes translated here as “receive eternal life” or “become one of God’s subjects” (see above). However, because the concept of being saved is used repeatedly in the Scriptures, many translators prefer to retain the word.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .