Paragraph 7:21–23
7:21a
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter: The clause who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ means “who calls me their Lord/Master.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Among those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ not all of them will enter
-or-
Some people who say to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will not enter
In some languages, it may be more natural to make Lord, Lord indirect speech. For example:
Not everyone who calls me his Lord/Master will enter
Lord, Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master,” “owner” or “a person who has great authority.” It is used to refer to someone greater in status or power. People used it to address God the Father and Jesus. See how you translated this word in 3:3 and 5:33.
The double address of Lord, Lord probably indicates honor, respect, and deep emotion. The speakers were insisting that Jesus is their Lord. But as 7:23 indicates, the people who said this were not true followers of Jesus.
In some languages this double address will indicate a different meaning. If that is true in your language, indicate the honor and respect in another way. For example:
my Lord
-or-
dear/beloved Lord
will enter the kingdom of heaven: In this context, the word enter refers to “becoming a citizen of.” When people believe in Jesus, they become citizens/members of the kingdom of heaven.
The phrase the kingdom of heaven refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.
Here Matthew used the word heaven as a Hebrew idiom to humbly refer to God.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven
-or-
become one of those who are in the kingdom of ⌊the one who lives in⌋ heaven
-or-
be added to those over whom God rules
-or-
will God make part of his reign
This clause also occurs in 5:20.
7:21b
but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven: The verb and object from 7:21a are implied but are not repeated. The complete sentence would be: but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven ⌊will enter the kingdom of heaven⌋.
It may be more natural in your language to include some of the implied words. For example:
but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven ⌊will become one of the people whom God rules⌋
-or-
but ⌊the person whom God will make part of his reign is⌋ the person who does my heavenly Father’s will
does the will of My Father in heaven: This clause means “does what God desires.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
does what my Father in heaven wants (God’s Word)
-or-
obey my Father in heaven (Contemporary English Version)
My Father in heaven: The clause in heaven further describes Jesus’ Father, namely, God. It does not imply that there are other fathers of Jesus and only this one is in heaven. In some languages, it will be necessary to translate the correct meaning in a different way. For example:
my Father in heaven (Good News Translation)
-or-
my heavenly Father
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