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OET (OET-LV) how narrow is the gate and the way which leading_away to the life having_been_narrowed is, and few are the ones finding it.
OET (OET-RV) The gateway leading away to life is narrow, and the path has been kept narrow, and not many people find it.
For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Sermon on the Mountain
The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain
Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill
But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life,
But the gate that leads to eternal life is narrow, and the path that goes there is hard to follow,
But the gate/entrance is small and the road/path is narrow that leads to life in heaven,
But: There is a textual issue here:
Some Greek manuscripts begin this verse with a word that functions as an exclamation. For example:
How narrow the gate (NAB)
Other Greek manuscripts begin this verse with the conjunction that means “For/because.” For example:
For the gate is narrow (RSV) (RSV, ESV, NASB, KJV)
The BSB, along with most English versions, do not follow option (2), but neither do they clearly translate option (1). Instead, they make explicit the contrast between 7:13 and 7:14 by beginning this verse with But. It is recommended that you also indicate the contrast between these two verses.
On the other hand, here is one way to indicate both the Greek exclamation and the contrast:
But very narrow is the gate
But the gate is really narrow
small is the gate: In the Greek, the word small is the same as “narrow” in 7:13a. You should translate it here as you did there. For example:
the gate is narrow
the entrance is small
narrow the way: The Greek word that the BSB translates as narrow refers to something being pressed/squeezed from both sides. This way/path is the opposite of the “wide/easy” path in 7:13b. You should translate it in a way that contrasts with “the way is easy.” For example:
the road is narrow (NCV)
The road that leads there is so hard to follow (CEV)
that leads to life: The word life refers to eternal life. In some languages a literal translation would refer only to life on earth. If that is true in your language, you may want to add some implied meaning. For example:
eternal life
life that never ends
life in heaven
Both the narrow gate and the narrow road lead to life. It is not only the narrow road. One way to make this clear is:
But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow (CEV)
and only a few find it.
and only a few people find it.”
and few people find that gate and enter.”
only a few find it: The Greek word that the BSB translates as find includes the meanings: “find from searching,” “find accidentally,” and “obtain, secure, or receive” Here it probably refers to finding after searching.
The pronoun it could refer to the gate, the path, or life. Because this clause is parallel to “enter through it” in 7:13c, this pronoun probably refers to the narrow gate. One way to translate this clause is:
few people find that gate
In some languages, the word find may not also imply entering. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied information. For example:
only a few people find it and enter
Note 1 topic: translate-textvariants
ὅτι στενὴ ἡ πύλη καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
Many ancient manuscripts read For the gate is narrow and the road has been made narrow. The ULT follows that reading. Other ancient manuscripts read “How narrow is the gate and having been made narrow the road.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
ὅτι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
Here, the word For introduces another reason why people should enter through the narrow gate. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason for a command, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Enter through the narrow gate because]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
στενὴ ἡ πύλη καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν, καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
Here Jesus continues to speak of how people live as if they were walking on a way and of what happens when they die as if it were entering through a gate. When a gate is narrow and a way has been made narrow, that means that they are difficult to go through and that not many people go through them. Express the idea as you did in [7:13](../07/13.md). Alternate translation: [only a few people live like travelers who find the narrow gate and travel on the road that has been made narrow, and this road leads to life]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς
˓having_been˒_narrowed_‹is› the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, it is clear from the context that it was God. Alternate translation: [the road is narrow] or [God has made the road narrow]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τὴν ζωήν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
Here Jesus implies that life is eternal or undying life. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [true life] or [eternal life]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
εἰς τὴν ζωήν
to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τί στενή ἡ πύλη καί τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδός ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν καί ὀλίγοι εἰσίν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of life, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [to being able to live]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
ὀλίγοι
few
Jesus is using the adjective few as a noun to mean few people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [few travelers]
Note 8 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτήν
it
Here, the word it could refer to: (1) both the gate and the road. Alternate translation: [them] (2) just the road. Alternate translation: [this road] (3) just the gate. Alternate translation: [this gate]
OET (OET-LV) how narrow is the gate and the way which leading_away to the life having_been_narrowed is, and few are the ones finding it.
OET (OET-RV) The gateway leading away to life is narrow, and the path has been kept narrow, and not many people find it.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.