Luke 14

1 One (Jewish day of rest/Sabbath day), Jesus went to eat [SYN] at the house of an important Pharisee. Some [men who studied the Jewish] laws and other Pharisees who were there were watching him carefully [to see if he would do something for which they could accuse him].

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.

2 Unexpectedly, there was a man in front of Jesus whose arms and legs were swollen.

And lo, a dropsical man was before him.

3 Jesus said to them, “Is it permitted in [our(inc)] Jewish laws to heal [someone] (on our Jewish rest day/on the Sabbath), or not?”

And Jews answered, and said to the Scribes and Pharisees: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?

4 [They knew that their laws permitted it, but they thought that healing was work, which they thought was wrong to do] (on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day) (OR, [they knew that their laws permitted it, but they did not want to admit it]). So they did not reply. Then Jesus put his hands on the man and healed him. Then he told him to go [home].

And they were silent. And he took him, and healed him, and dismissed him.

5 Then he said to the rest of them, “If you had a son or an ox that fell into a well on a (Sabbath/our day of rest), would you immediately [work to] pull him out, [or would you(sg) let him stay there until the next day]?”

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?

6 [They knew that they would immediately work to pull him out, even on their day of rest, so they could not justly say that Jesus did wrong by healing the man on that day. So] they said nothing in reply to Jesus.

And they could give him no answer to that.

7 Jesus noticed that those people who had been {whom [the Pharisee] had} invited [to the meal] chose [to sit in] the places where important [people usually sit]. Then he gave [this advice] to them:

And he spoke a similitude to the guests that were present, as he noticed how they chose places on the highest couches.

8 “When one of you [(sg)] is invited by someone {someone invites one of you [(sg)]} to a wedding feast, do not sit in a place where important people sit. Perhaps the man [giving the feast] has invited a man more important than you [(sg)].

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;

9 [When that man comes], the man who invited both of you will come to you [(sg)] and say to you, ‘Let this man take your seat!’ Then you [(sg)] will have to take the most undesirable seat, and you will be ashamed.

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.

10 Instead, when you are invited {[someone] invites one of you} [to a feast], go and sit in the most undesirable seat. Then when the man who invited everyone comes, he will say to you [(sg)], ‘Friend, sit in a better seat!’ Then all the people who are eating with you [(sg)] will see that he is honoring you.

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.

11 Also, [remember this]: [God] will humble those who exalt themselves. And [he] will exalt those who humble themselves.”

For, every one that exalteth himself, will be humbled: and every one that humbleth himself, will be exalted.

12 [Jesus] also said to [the Pharisee] who had invited him to the meal, “When you [(sg)] invite people to a midday or evening meal, do not invite your friends or your family or your other relatives or your rich neighbors. They can later invite you [(sg) for a meal]. In that way they will repay you.

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.

13 Instead, when you [(sg)] give a feast, invite poor [people], crippled [people], lame [people], or blind [people].

But when thou makest a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

14 They will be unable to repay you. [But God will bless you! He] will repay you [at the time] when [he causes] righteous people to become alive again.”

And thou wilt be blessed. For they cannot recompense thee; but thy recompense will be at the resurrection of the just.

15 One of those who were eating with Jesus heard him say that. He said to Jesus, “God [has truly] blessed [us Jews] who will eat [with the Messiah] when he starts to rule!”

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.

16 But [to show that many Jews whom God had invited would not accept God’s invitation] [MET], Jesus replied to him, “One time a man [decided] to prepare a large feast. He invited many people to come.

Jesus said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.

17 When it was the day for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those who had been {whom he had} invited, ‘Come [now] because everything is ready!’

And at the time for supper, he sent his servant to say to those invited: Lo, every thing is ready for you; come.

18 But [when the servant did that], all of the people [whom he had invited] began to say why they did not want to come. The first [man the servant went to] said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please [ask your master to] forgive me for not coming!’

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.

19 Another person said, ‘I have just bought five pair of oxen, and I must go to examine them. Please [ask your master to] forgive me for not coming!’

Another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to inspect them. I pray thee, allow me to be excused.

20 Another person said, ‘I have just been married. So I cannot come.’

Another said: I have married a wife, and on this account I cannot come.

21 So the servant returned to his master and reported what [everyone had said]. The owner of the house was angry [when he heard the reasons they gave for not] coming. He said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city [and find] poor and crippled and blind and lame [people, and bring] them here into [my house]!’

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.

22 [After the servant went and did that], he [came back and] said, ‘Sir, I have done what you [(sg)] told me to do, but there is still room [for more people].’

And the servant said: My lord, it is done as thou commandedst; and still there is room.

23 [So] his master said to him, ‘Then go [outside the city]. Search for people along the highways. Search also along the narrow roads with hedges beside them [where homeless people may be staying]. Strongly urge the people in those places to come to [my house]. I want it to be full of [people]!’”

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.

24 [Then Jesus said], “I tell you [(pl)] this: Very few of you [Jewish] people will enjoy my feast, even though [I] invited you [first to eat it with me when I become king].”

For I declare to you, that not one of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.

25 Large groups of people were traveling with [Jesus]. He turned and said to them,

And when great multitudes were travelling with him, he turned himself, and said to them:

26 “If anyone comes to me who loves his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters [more than] [HYP] [he loves me], he cannot be my disciple. He must even love me more than he loves his own life!

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.

27 [People who are ready to execute a prisoner make] him carry his cross [MET] [to the place where others will nail him] on it. Only those who are willing [to allow others to hurt them and disgrace them] like that because of being my disciples, and who are willing to obey what I teach, can be my disciples.

And he that doth not take up his cross and come after me, cannot become a disciple to me.

28 [I will illustrate] [MET]. If one of you desired to build a (tower/big house), (you would surely first sit down and determine how much it would cost!/would you not first sit down and determine how much it would cost?) [RHQ] Then you would determine whether you had enough money to complete it.

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?

29 [If you did not do that], if you laid the foundation and were not able to finish [the rest of the tower], everyone who saw it would make fun of you.

lest, when he hath laid the foundation, and is unable to finish, all that see it begin to deride him;

30 They would say, ‘This man started to build [a tower], but he was not able to finish it!’

and say: This man began to build, and was unable to finish.

31 Or, if a king decided to [send his army to] war against another king, (he would surely first sit down [with those who] advised [him]./would he not first sit down [with those who] advised [him]?) [RHQ] They would determine whether [his army], which had only 10,000 soldiers, could defeat the [other army], which had 20,000 soldiers, and was about to attack his [army].

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?

32 If he [decided] that his army could not [defeat that army], he would send messengers to [the other king] while the other army was still far away. He would tell the messengers to say to that king, ‘What things must I do to have peace with your country?’

and if not; while he is yet far from him, he sendeth envoys, and sueth for peace.

33 So, similarly, if any one of you does not first decide that you [(sg)] are [willing to] give up all that you have, you cannot be my disciple.”

So every one of you who doth not give up all his possessions, cannot be my disciple.

34 [Jesus also said, “You are like] [MET] salt, which is useful [to put on food]. But (salt certainly cannot be made {[you] certainly cannot make salt} to taste salty again if it stops tasting salty!/can salt be made {can [you] make salt} to taste salty again if it quits tasting salty?) [RHQ]

Salt is a good thing: but if the salt itself hath become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted?

35 [If salt does not taste salty any more], it is not good for the soil or even for the manure heap. [People] throw it away. [The same thing will happen to you if you become useless to God]. If you want to understand what I just said [IDM], you must consider [carefully] what you have heard!”

It is fit for neither the earth, nor the dunghill. They cast it away. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.