13 (A)“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and (B)the way is hard that leads to life, and (C)those who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 (D)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are (E)ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them (F)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, (G)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 (H)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them (I)by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

21 (J)“Not everyone who (K)says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will (L)enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who (M)does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 (N)On that day (O)many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not (P)prophesy in your name, and cast out demons (Q)in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 (R)And then will I declare to them, ‘I (S)never knew you; (T)depart from me, (U)you workers of lawlessness.’

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 7:13 Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 (A)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. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of the (B)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (C)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](D)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (E)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 (F)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (G)by their fruits.

21 (H)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 (I)Many will say to Me on (J)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [d]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (K)leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 7:16 Or recognize
  2. Matthew 7:16 Lit They do not gather
  3. Matthew 7:20 Or recognize
  4. Matthew 7:22 Or works of power

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate.(A) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets.(B) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.(C) 16 By their fruit you will recognize them.(D) Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?(E) 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.(F) 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.(G) 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(H) will enter the kingdom of heaven,(I) but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.(J) 22 Many will say to me on that day,(K) ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’(L) 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(M)

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The Narrow Gate

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

The Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

True Disciples

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

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Footnotes

  1. 7:13 Greek The road that leads to destruction.