Matthew 7:13
New International Version
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

New Living Translation
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.

English Standard Version
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

Berean Standard Bible
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

Berean Literal Bible
Enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad the way leading to destruction, and many are those entering through it.

King James Bible
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

New King James Version
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

New American Standard Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

NASB 1995
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

NASB 1977
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

Amplified Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it.

Christian Standard Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.

American Standard Version
Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Enter the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is spacious which leads to destruction, and many are those who are going in it.

Contemporary English Version
Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat.

English Revised Version
Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many be they that enter in thereby.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Enter through the narrow gate because the gate and road that lead to destruction are wide. Many enter through the wide gate.

Good News Translation
"Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it.

International Standard Version
"Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road is spacious that leads to destruction, and many people are entering by it.

Literal Standard Version
Go in through the narrow gate, because wide [is] the gate and broad the way that is leading to the destruction, and many are those going in through it;

Majority Standard Bible
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

New American Bible
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.

NET Bible
"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

New Revised Standard Version
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.

New Heart English Bible
"Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.

Webster's Bible Translation
Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in by it.

Weymouth New Testament
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad the road which leads to ruin, and many there are who enter by it;

World English Bible
“Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it.

Young's Literal Translation
Go ye in through the strait gate, because wide is the gate, and broad the way that is leading to the destruction, and many are those going in through it;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Narrow Gate
12In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets. 13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.…

Cross References
Isaiah 35:8
And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it--only those who walk in the Way--and fools will not stray onto it.

Matthew 7:14
But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Luke 13:24
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.


Treasury of Scripture

Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

at.

Matthew 3:2,8
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…

Matthew 18:2,3
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, …

Matthew 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

for.

Genesis 6:5,12
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…

Psalm 14:2,3
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God…

Isaiah 1:9
Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

that.

Matthew 25:41,46
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: …

Proverbs 7:27
Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

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Matthew 7
1. Do Not Judge
7. Ask, Seek, Knock
13. Enter through the Narrow Gate
15. A Tree and Its Fruit
24. The Wise and the Foolish Builders
28. Jesus ends his sermon, and the people are astonished.














(13) Enter ye in at the strait gate.--The figure was possibly suggested by some town actually in sight. Safed, the "city set on a hill," or some other, with the narrow pathway leading to the yet narrower gate, the "needle's eye" of the city, through which the traveller entered. Such, at any rate, was the picture which the words presented. A like image had been used before, with a singular coincidence of language, in the allegory known as the Tablet of Cebes, the Disciple of Socrates: "Seest thou not a certain small door, and a pathway before the door, in no way crowded, but few, very few, go in thereat? This is the way that leadeth to true discipline" (c. 16). The meaning of the parable here lies on the surface. The way and the gate are alike the way of obedience and holiness, and the gate is to be reached not without pain and effort; but only through it can we enter into the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. A deeper significance is, however, suggested even by our Lord's own teaching. He Himself is the "way" (John 14:6), or with a slight variation of the imagery, He is the "door," or gate, by which His sheep enter into the fold (John 10:7). Only we must remember that His being thus the "way" and the "gate" does not mean that we can find, in union with Him, a substitute for holiness, but indicates simply how we are to attain to it.

That leadeth to destruction.--The question, which has been much discussed lately, whether this word "destruction" means the extinction of conscious life--what is popularly called annihilation--or prolonged existence in endless suffering, is one which can hardly be settled by mere reference to lexicons. So far as they go, the word implies, not annihilation, but waste (Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4), perdition, i.e., the loss of all that makes existence precious. I question whether a single passage can be adduced in which it means, in relation to material things, more than the breaking up of their outward form and beauty, or in spiritual things, more than what may be described as the wretchedness of a wasted life. The use of the cognate verb confirms this meaning. Men "perish" when they are put to death (Matthew 22:7; Acts 5:37; et al.). Caiaphas gave his counsel that one man should die for the people, that the whole nation perish not (John 11:50). The demons ask whether the Christ has come to destroy them (Mark 1:24). The sheep are lost when they are wandering in the wilderness (Matthew 15:24; Luke 15:6). The immediate context leads to the same conclusion. "Life" is more than mere existence. "Destruction," by parity of reasoning, should be more than mere non-existence. On the other hand, the fact of the waste, the loss, the perdition, does not absolutely exclude the possibility of deliverance. The lost sheep was found; the exiled son, perishing with hunger, was brought back to his father's house. . . .

Verses 13-27. -

(4) Epilogue (cf. Matthew 5:3, note). Dare to take up this position, which has been laid down in Matthew 5:21 - 7:12, involving though it must separation from the majority of men (vers. 13, 14); and this notwithstanding the claim of others to reveal the Lord's mind, whose true nature, however, you shall perceive from their actions (vers. 15-20); they that work iniquity have neither present nor future union with me (vers. 21-23). Finally a solemn warning (vers. 24-27). Verse 13. - For vers. 13, 14, cf. Luke 13:23, 24, which, however (notwithstanding the similarity of vers. 25-27 to our vers. 21-23), were probably spoken later, and were perhaps suggested to both the disciples and the Master by this earlier saying. On the other hand, our ver. 14 seems so direct an answer to Luke 13:23 that it is not unlikely that this is one of the many passages placed by St. Matthew, or the authors of his sources, out of chronological order. Enter ye in. Show immediate energy and determination. Observe:

(1) In Luke, "strive (ἀγωνίζεσθε) to enter in"; here, "enter at once."

(2) In Luke, "through the narrow door" into, apparently, the final abiding-place; here, "through the narrow gate" into apparently the (perhaps long) road which takes us at last to full salvation. Thus in Luke our Lord speaks of continued striving; here, of immediate decision, in which, however, lies the assurance of ultimate success (cf. ver. 14, end; also 1 John 2:13). At the strait gate; Revised Version, by the narrow gate - the entrance resembling the road (ver. 14, note). Chrysostom (in lot.), contrasting present trials with future happiness, says, "straitened is the way and narrow is the gate, but not the city." For wide is the gate, and Broad is the way. So also the Revised Version, but the Revised Version margin has, "some ancient authorities omit is the gate." (For a full discussion on the difficult question of the genuineness of ἡ πύλη here, vide Westcott and Hort, 'App.') Westcott and Hort omit it, with א, Old Latin, and many Greek and Latin Fathers, and say that, though ἡ πύλη is probably genuine in ver. 14, "till the latter part of the fourth century the first ἡ πύλῃ has no Greek or Latin patristic evidence in its favour, much against it." They think this is "one of those rare readings in which the true text has been preserved by א without extant uncial support... . It was natural to scribes to set ver. 13 in precisely antithetic contrast to ver. 14; but the sense gains in force if there is no mention of two gates, and if the contrast in ver. 13 is between the narrow gate and the broad and spacious way." There must be a definite entering upon the right way; no entrance upon the wrong way is necessary, men find themselves upon it only too easily, and it is "made level with stones" (Ecclus. 21:10). Wide... broad. The second epithet (εὐρύχωρος) lays stress on there being plenty of space to walk in (Latt., spatiosa). That leadeth to destruction (ei) th\n a)pw/leian); that "perishing" in which "the sons of perishing" perish (John 17:12). And many there be which; Revised Version, more exactly, and many be they that (καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ εἰσερχόμενοι). Our Lord says that they that are perishing are many (cf. ver. 14, note). Go in; Revised Version, enter in; keeping up the allusion to "enter ye in." Observe, however, that if ἡ πύλη (vide supra) is false, the thought here is of entrance into the final issue of the way - ἡ ἀπώλεια. Thereat; Revised Version, thereby; i.e. by the way.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Enter
Εἰσέλθατε (Eiselthate)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1525: To go in, come in, enter. From eis and erchomai; to enter.

through
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

the
τῆς (tēs)
Article - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

narrow
στενῆς (stenēs)
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4728: Narrow, strait. Probably from the base of histemi; narrow.

gate.
πύλης (pylēs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4439: A gate. Apparently a primary word; a gate, i.e. The leaf or wing of a folding entrance.

For
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

wide [is]
πλατεῖα (plateia)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4116: Broad, wide; subst: a street. From plasso; spread out 'flat', i.e. Broad.

the
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

gate
πύλη (pylē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4439: A gate. Apparently a primary word; a gate, i.e. The leaf or wing of a folding entrance.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

broad [is]
εὐρύχωρος (eurychōros)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2149: Broad, spacious, wide. From eurus and chora; spacious.

the
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

way
ὁδὸς (hodos)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3598: A way, road, journey, path. Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress; figuratively, a mode or means.

that
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

leads
ἀπάγουσα (apagousa)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 520: To lead, carry, take away; met: To be led astray, seduced. From apo and ago; to take off.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

destruction,
ἀπώλειαν (apōleian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 684: Destruction, ruin, loss, perishing; eternal ruin. From a presumed derivative of apollumi; ruin or loss.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

many
πολλοί (polloi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4183: Much, many; often.

enter
εἰσερχόμενοι (eiserchomenoi)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1525: To go in, come in, enter. From eis and erchomai; to enter.

through
δι’ (di’)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

it.
αὐτῆς (autēs)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


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