Luke 14
1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath, that they watched him.
One day--it was a Sabbath--He was taking a meal at the house of one of the Rulers of the Pharisee party, while they were closely watching Him.
2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy.
In front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
3 And Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?
This led Jesus to ask the lawyers and Pharisees, "Is it allowable to cure people on the Sabbath?"
4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
They gave Him no answer; so He took hold of the man, cured him, and sent him away.
5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have a donkey or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?
Then He turned to them and said, "Which of you shall have a child or an ox fall into a well on the Sabbath day, and will not immediately lift him out?"
6 And they could not answer him again to these things.
To this they could make no reply.
7 And he put forth a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose out the best places; saying to them,
Then, when He noticed that the invited guests chose the best seats, He used this as an illustration and said to them,
8 When thou art invited by any man to a wedding, sit not down in the best place; lest a more honourable man than thou be invited by him;
"When any one invites you to a wedding banquet, do not take the best seat, lest perhaps some more honoured guest than you may have been asked,
9 And he that invited thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest place.
and the man who invited you both will come and will say to you, 'Make room for this guest,' and then you, ashamed, will move to the lowest place.
10 But when thou art invited, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that invited thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have honour in the presence of them that sit eating with thee.
On the contrary, when you are invited go and take the lowest place, that when your host comes round he may say to you, 'My friend, come up higher.' This will be doing you honour in the presence of all the other guests.
11 For whoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
For whoever uplifts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be uplifted.
12 Then said he also to him that invited him, When thou givest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
Also to His host, who had invited Him, He said, "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbours, lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you.
13 But when thou givest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
But when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind;
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
and you will be blessed, because they have no means of requiting you, but there will be requital for you at the Resurrection of the righteous."
15 And when one of them that sat eating with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
After listening to this teaching, one of His fellow guests said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall feast in God's Kingdom."
16 Then said he to him, A certain man gave a great supper, and invited many:
"A man once gave a great dinner," replied Jesus, "to which he invited a large number of guests.
17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were invited, Come; for all things are now ready.
At dinner-time he sent his servant to announce to those who had been invited, "'Come, for things are now ready.'
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
"But they all without exception began to excuse themselves. The first told him, "'I have purchased a piece of land, and must of necessity go and look at it. Pray hold me excused.'
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them out: I pray thee have me excused.
"A second pleaded, "'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am on my way to try them. Pray hold me excused.'
20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
"Another said, "'I am just married. It is impossible for me to come.'
21 So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, and the maimed, and the lame, and the blind.
"So the servant came and brought these answers to his master, and they stirred his anger. "'Go out quickly,' he said, 'into the streets of the city--the wide ones and the narrow. You will see poor men, and crippled, blind, lame: fetch them all in here.'
22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
"Soon the servant reported the result, saying, "'Sir, what you ordered is done, and there is room still.'
23 And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
"'Go out,' replied the master, 'to the high roads and hedge-rows, and compel the people to come in, so that my house may be filled.
24 For I say to you, That none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.
For I tell you that not one of those who were invited shall taste my dinner.'"
25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said to them,
On His journey vast crowds attended Him, towards whom He turned and said,
26 If any man cometh to me, and hateth not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
"If any one is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.
27 And whoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
No one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it?
"Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not sit down first and calculate the cost, asking if he has the means to finish it? --
29 Lest perhaps, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
lest perhaps, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to finish, all who see it shall begin to jeer at him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
saying, 'This man began to build, but could not finish.'
31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Or what king, marching to encounter another king in war, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth a delegation, and desireth conditions of peace.
If not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers and sues for peace.
33 So likewise, whoever he is of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Just as no one of you who does not detach himself from all that belongs to him can be a disciple of mine.
34 Salt is good: but if the salt hath lost its savour, how shall it be seasoned?
"Salt is good: but if even the salt has become tasteless, what will you use to season it?
35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Neither for land nor dunghill is it of any use; they throw it away. Listen, every one who has ears to listen with!"
