Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,^[a] for this is right. ² ‘Honour your father and mother’—this is the first commandment with a promise: ³ ‘so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’

⁴ And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; ⁶ not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. ⁷ Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, ⁸ knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.

⁹ And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

The Narrow Door

²² Jesus^[a] went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ²⁴ ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” ²⁶ Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” ²⁷ But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’