Luke 14

1 It happened on the Sabbath Day when he went into the house of a certain ruler among Pharisees to take a meal, that they were watching him.

And it came about that when he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees on the Sabbath, to have a meal, they were watching him.

2 And lo! there was in front of him a man who had dropsy.

And a certain man was there who had a disease.

3 So Jesus questioned the lawyers and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath Day or not?"

And Jesus, answering, said to the scribes and Pharisees, Is it right to make people well on the Sabbath or not?

4 They kept silent. Then Jesus took him and healed him and let him go.

But they said nothing. And he made him well and sent him away.

5 And to them he said, "Which of you when an ox or ass has fallen into a well, will at once pull him out on the Sabbath Day?"

And he said to them, Which of you, whose ox or ass has got into a water-hole, will not straight away get him out on the Sabbath?

6 They could not answer this.

And they had no answer to that question.

7 He told a parable to the guests when he noticed how they began choosing the best seats. He said to them.

And he gave teaching in the form of a story to the guests who came to the feast, when he saw how they took the best seats; saying to them,

8 "When you are invited by any one to a marriage-feast, do not sit down in the best seat, lest a guest more distinguished than yourself has been invited, and your host come to you and say,

When you get a request to come to a feast, do not take the best seat, for a more important man than you may be coming,

9 "‘Give place to this man,’ and then with mortification you proceed to take the lowest place.

And then the giver of the feast will come to you and say, Give your place to this man; and you, with shame, will have to take the lowest seat.

10 "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when your host arrives he may say to you, ‘My friend, come up higher.’ Then you will be honored before the other guest.

But when you come, go and take the lowest seat, so that when the giver of the feast comes, he may say to you, Friend, come up higher; and then you will have honour in the eyes of all the others who are there.

11 "For every one who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

For every man who gives himself a high place will be put down, but he who takes a low place will be lifted up.

12 Also to his host who had invited him, he continued, saying. "When you are making a dinner-party or a supper, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your rich neighbors, lest it chance that they invite you in return, and a recompense be made by you.

And he said to the master of the house, When you give a feast, do not send for your friends and your brothers and your family or your neighbours who have wealth, for they may give a feast for you, and so you will get a reward.

13 "But when you make a reception, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

But when you give a feast, send for the poor and the blind and those who are broken in body:

14 "Then you will be blessed, because they have no means to repay you, but you shall be paid in the Resurrection of the Just."

And you will have a blessing, because they will not be able to give you any payment, and you will get your reward when the upright come back from the dead.

15 One of his fellow guest who was listening to him, said to him, "Blessed are those who eat bread in the kingdom of God."

And, hearing these words, one of those who were at table with him said to him, Happy is the man who will be a guest in the kingdom of God.

16 Jesus answered. "A certain man was making a great feast to which he invited many guests.

And he said to them, A certain man gave a great feast, and sent word of it to a number of people.

17 "At dinnertime he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

And when the time had come, he sent his servants to say to them, Come, for all things are now ready.

18 "And they all, without exception, proceeded to excuse themselves. The first told him. ‘I have bought a field, and must needs go and see it. Pray have me excused.’

And they all gave reasons why they were not able to come. The first said to him, I have got a new field, and it is necessary for me to go and see it: I am full of regret that I am unable to come.

19 "The second said. ‘I have bought five yolk of oxen and am on my way to try them. I pray that you will have me excused.’

And another said, I have got some cattle, and I am going to make a test of them: I am full of regret that I am unable to come.

20 "‘I have taken a wife,’ said the another, ‘and for that reason I am unable to come.’

And another said, I have been married, and so I am not able to come.

21 "So the slave came and presented all these answers to his master. Then the master of the house was indignant, and said to his slave. ‘Go out, quickly, into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in hither the poor, the maimed, the blind, the lame.’

And the servant came back and gave his master an account of these things. Then the master of the house was angry and said to the servant, Go out quickly into the streets of the town and get the poor, the blind, and those who are broken in body.

22 "And the slave said, ‘My master, your orders have been carried out, but yet there is room.’

And the servant said, Lord, your orders have been done, and still there is room.

23 "Said the master to his slave. ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges, and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the roads and the fields, and make them come in, so that my house may be full.

24 "‘For I tell you that not one of those invited guests shall taste my supper.’"

For I say to you that not one of those who were requested to come will have a taste of my feast.

25 Great crowds were along with him, and he turned to them and said.

Now a great number of people went with him.

26 "If any one comes to me and does not hate father and his mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, yes, and his own very life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

And turning round, he said to them, If any man comes to me, and has not hate for his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even for his life, he may not be my disciple.

27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, cannot be a disciple of mine.

Whoever does not take up his cross and come after me may not be my disciple.

28 "Which of you who is desirous of building a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, to see if he has the means to complete it?

For which of you, desiring to put up a tower, does not first give much thought to the price, if he will have enough to make it complete?

29 "Lest it happen that after he has laid the foundations and is unable to complete it, all who see it shall begin to jeer at him saying,

For fear that if he makes a start and is not able to go on with it to the end, all who see it will be laughing at him,

30 "‘This fellow began to build and could not finish.’

And saying, This man made a start at building and is not able to make it complete.

31 "Or what king as he goes forth to join battle with another king in war does not sit down first and deliberate whether he can meet with ten thousand men the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand?

Or what king, going to war with another king, will not first take thought if he will be strong enough, with ten thousand men, to keep off him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 "If he cannot, while the other king is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy to ask conditions of peace.

Or while the other is still a great distance away, he sends representatives requesting conditions of peace.

33 "Just so any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

And so whoever is not ready to give up all he has may not be my disciple.

34 "Salt is good, but if even the salt have lost its flavor, with what shall it be seasoned?

For salt is good, but if the taste goes from it, of what use is it?

35 "It is fit neither for the land nor the dung-hill; men cast it out. He who has ears to hear let him listen to this!"

It is no good for the land or for the place of waste; no one has a use for it. He who has ears, let him give ear.