It happened that when
He went
into the house
of one
of the 1leaders
of the Pharisees
on the Sabbath
to eat
bread
, athey were watching
Him closely
.
And 1there in front
of Him was a man
suffering
from dropsy
.
And Jesus answered
and spoke
to the 1 alawyers
and Pharisees
, saying
, " bIs it lawful
to heal
on the Sabbath
, or
not?"
But they kept silent
. And He took
hold
of him and healed
him, and sent
him away
.
And He said to them, " 1 aWhich
one of you will have a son
or
an ox
fall
into a well
, and will not immediately
pull
him out on a Sabbath
day
?"
aAnd they could make
no
reply
to this
.
And He began speaking a parable
to the invited
guests
when He noticed
how
athey had been picking
out the places
of honor
at the table, saying
to them,
"When you are invited
by someone
to a wedding
feast
, ado not 1take
the place
of honor
, for someone more
distinguished
than you may have been
invited
by him,
and he who invited you both
will come
and say
to you, `Give
your place
to this
man
,' and then
ain disgrace
you 1proceed
to occupy
the last
place
.
"But when you are invited
, go
and recline
at the last
place
, so
that when
the one who has invited
you comes
, he may say
to you, `Friend
, amove
up higher
'; then
you will have honor
in the sight
of all
who 1are at the table
with you.
" aFor everyone who exalts
himself
will be humbled
, and he who humbles
himself
will be exalted
."
And He also went on to say
to the one who had invited
Him, "When
you give
a luncheon
or
a dinner
, do not invite
your friends
or
your brothers
or
your relatives
or
rich
neighbors
, otherwise
they may also
invite
you in return
and that will be your repayment
.
"But when you give
a 1reception
, invite
the poor
, the crippled
, the lame
, the blind
,
and you will be blessed, since
they 1do not have
the means to repay
you; for you will be repaid
at athe resurrection
of the righteous
."
When one of those
who were reclining
at the table with Him heard
this
, he said
to Him, " aBlessed
is everyone
who
will eat
bread
in the kingdom
of God
!"
But He said to him, " aA man
was giving
a big
dinner
, and he invited
many
;
and at the dinner hour
he sent
his slave
to say
to those
who had been invited
, `Come
; for everything is ready
now
.'
"But they all alike
began
to make
excuses
. The first
one
said
to him, `I have bought
a 1piece
of land
and I need
to go
out and look
at it; 2please
consider
me excused
.'
"Another one
said
, `I have bought
five
yoke
of oxen
, and I am going
to try
them out; 1please
consider
me excused
.'
"Another one
said
, ` aI have married
a wife
, and for that reason
I cannot
come
.'
"And the slave came
back and reported
this
to his master
. Then
the head
of the household
became angry
and said
to his slave
, `Go
out at once
into the streets
and lanes
of the city
and bring
in here
the poor
and crippled
and blind
and lame
.'
"And the slave said
, `Master
, what
you commanded
has been
done
, and still
there is room
.'
"And the master said
to the slave
, `Go
out into the highways
and along the hedges
, and compel
them to come
in, so
that my house
may be filled
.
`For I tell you, none
of those
men
who were invited
shall taste
of my dinner
.' "
Now 1large
crowds
were going
along
with Him; and He turned
and said
to them,
" aIf anyone
comes
to Me, and does not 1hate
his own father
and mother
and wife
and children
and brothers
and sisters
, yes
, and even
his own
life
, he cannot
be My disciple
.
"Whoever does not acarry
his own
cross
and come
after
Me cannot
be My disciple
.
"For which one of you, when he wants
to build
a tower
, does not first
sit
down
and calculate
the cost
to see if
he has
enough to complete
it?
"Otherwise, when
he has laid
a foundation
and is not able
to finish
, all
who observe
it begin
to ridicule
him,
saying, `This
man
began
to build
and was not able
to finish
.'
"Or what
king
, when he sets
out to meet
another
king
in battle
, will not first
sit
down
and aconsider
whether
he is strong
enough
with ten
thousand
men to encounter
the one coming
against
him with twenty
thousand
?
"Or else
, while the other
is still
far
away
, he sends
1a delegation
and asks
for terms
of peace
.
"So then
, none
of you can
be My disciple
who
adoes not give
up all
his own
possessions
.
"Therefore, salt
is good
; but aif
even
salt
has become
tasteless
, with what
will it be seasoned
?
"It is useless either
for the soil
or
for the manure
pile
; it is thrown
out. aHe who has
ears
to hear
, 1let him hear
."