Luke 14

1 One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.

And it came to pass, when he had come into the house of one of the chief men of the Pharisees on the sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching him.

2 Right there before Him was a man with dropsy.

And lo! there was a certain man before him, who had the dropsy.

3 So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

And Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath, or not?

4 But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

But they were silent. And taking hold of him, he cured him, and sent him away.

5 And He asked them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out?”

And he answered them and said, Who is there of you, who, if his son or his ox fall into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the sabbath-day?

6 And they were unable to answer these questions.

And they could make no answer to this.

7 When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable:

And he spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he observed how they chose out the highest places at the table, saying to them,

8 “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.

When thou art invited by any one to a wedding, do not take the highest place, lest one more honorable than thou may have been invited by him;

9 Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.

and he who invited thee and him come and say to thee, Give place to this man; and then thou wilt begin with shame to take the lowest place.

10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.

But when thou art invited, go and recline in the lowest place, that when he who invited thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher. Then wilt thou have honor in the presence of all who are at table with thee.

11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

For every one that exalteth himself will be humbled; and he that humbleth himself will be exalted.

12 Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.

And he said also to him who invited him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, do not invite thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest they too invite thee in return, and a recompense be made thee.

13 But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind;

14 and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

and thou shalt be blessed, because they cannot recompense thee; but thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous.

15 When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

And one of those who were at table with him, hearing this, said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

16 But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.

And he said to him, A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.

17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

And at the hour of supper he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for things are now ready.

18 But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’

And all with one accord began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, I have bought a piece of land, and must needs go out and see it; I pray that I may be excused.

19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am going out to try them; I pray that I may be excused.

20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’

And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

21 The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

And the servant came, and reported these things to his lord. 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, the blind, and the lame.

22 ‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

And the servant said, Lord, what thou didst command hath been done, and yet there is room.

23 So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

And the lord said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”

For I say to you, that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.

25 Large crowds were now traveling with Jesus, and He turned and said to them,

And great multitudes were going with him; and he turned and said to them,

26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

If any one cometh to me, and hateth not his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

Whoever doth not bear his own cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple.

28 Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

For which of you, intending to build a tower, doth not sit down first and count the cost, whether he hath the means to finish it?

29 Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

lest haply when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to make sport of him,

30 saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’

saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

31 Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

Or what king, setting out to give battle to another king, will not first sit down and consider whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32 And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

Else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassy, and asketh conditions of peace.

33 In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.

So likewise, whoever of you doth not forsake all that he hath, cannot be my disciple.

34 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned?

Salt then is good; but if the salt itself have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

It is fit neither for the land, nor for the dunghill; men cast it out. He that hath ears, let him hear.