< Luke 14 >

1 And it occurred, that, as he entered the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread, on the sabbath day, 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 lo, a dropsical man was before him.
In front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy.
3 And Jews answered, and said to the Scribes and Pharisees: 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 were silent. And he took him, and healed him, and dismissed him.
They gave Him no answer; so He took hold of the man, cured him, and sent him away.
5 And he said to them: Which of you, if his son or his ox fall into a pit on the sabbath day, doth not immediately lift and draw him out?
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 give him no answer to that.
To this they could make no reply.
7 And he spoke a similitude to the guests that were present, as he noticed how they chose places on the highest couches.
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 one to a house of feasting, go not and recline on the highest couch; lest there should be invited there, one more honorable than thou;
"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 both him and thee come and say to thee, Give place to this man; and thou be ashamed, when thou risest, and takest a lower couch.
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 recline on the lowest couch; that when he who invited thee come, he may say to thee: My friend, come up higher and recline. And thou wilt have honor, before all that recline 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, every one that exalteth himself, will be humbled: and every one that humbleth himself, will be exalted.
For whoever uplifts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be uplifted.
12 And he said to him that invited him: When thou makest a dinner or a supper, invite not thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy relatives, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also invite thee, and thou have this recompense.
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 makest a feast, invite 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 wilt be blessed. For they cannot recompense thee; but thy recompense will be 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 those reclining 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 Jesus said to him: A certain man made 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 at the time for supper, he sent his servant to say to those invited: Lo, every thing is ready for you; come.
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 to a man, began to excuse themselves. The first said to him: I have bought a field, and am constrained to go out and see it. I pray thee, allow me to be 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 Another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to inspect them. I pray thee, allow me to be excused.
"A second pleaded, "'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am on my way to try them. Pray hold me excused.'
20 Another said: I have married a wife, and on this account I cannot come.
"Another said, "'I am just married. It is impossible for me to come.'
21 And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the lord of the house was angry: and he said to his servant, Go out quickly into the market-places and streets of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the diseased, 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: My lord, it is done as thou commandedst; and still 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 his servant: Go out to the by-paths, and among the hedges, and constrain 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 declare to you, that not one of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.
For I tell you that not one of those who were invited shall taste my dinner.'"
25 And when great multitudes were travelling with him, he turned himself, and said to them:
On His journey vast crowds attended Him, towards whom He turned and said,
26 He that cometh to me, and hateth not his father and his mother, and his brothers and his sisters, and his wife and his children, and his own life also, cannot become a disciple to me.
"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 he that doth not take up his cross and come after me, cannot become a disciple to me.
No one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.
28 For, which of you, wishing to build a tower, doth not first sit down and compute the expense, whether he have the means to complete 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, when he hath laid the foundation, and is unable to finish, all that see it begin to deride 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 and say: This man began to build, and was unable to finish.
saying, 'This man began to build, but could not finish.'
31 Or what king, that is going to contend in battle with his neighbor king, doth not first consider, whether he is able, with ten thousand, to meet him that is coming 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 and if not; while he is yet far from him, he sendeth envoys, and sueth for peace.
If not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers and sues for peace.
33 So every one of you who doth not give up all his possessions, 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 a good thing: but if the salt itself hath become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted?
"Salt is good: but if even the salt has become tasteless, what will you use to season it?
35 It is fit for neither the earth, nor the dunghill. They cast it away. 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!"

< Luke 14 >