2 Esdras 7:12-14

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

¹² And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships. ¹³ But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and yield the fruit of immortality. ¹⁴ Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and futile experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them.