Luke 14

ABU^{(i) 1} AND it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief of the Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath, that they watched him. ² And, behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. ³ And Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not? And they were silent. ⁴ And taking hold of him, he healed him, and let him go. ⁵ And to them he said: Who is there of you, whose ox or ass shall fall into a pit, and he will not straightway draw him up on the sabbath day? ⁶ And they could not answer him again to these things. ⁷ And he spoke a parable to those who were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the first places; saying to them: ⁸ When thou art bidden by any one to a wedding, recline not in the first place at table, lest one more honorable than thou may have been bidden by him; ⁹ and he that bade thee and him shall come and say to thee, Give place to this man; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when thou art bidden, go and recline in the lowest place; that when he that bade thee comes, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have honor in the presence of those who recline at table with thee. ¹¹ For every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. ¹² And he said also to him who bade him: When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. ¹³ But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴ And happy shalt thou be, because they can not recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous. ¹⁵ And a certain one of those who reclined at table with him, hearing these things, said to him: Happy is he, who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! ¹⁶ And he said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and bade many. ¹⁷ And he sent his servant, at the hour of the supper, to say to those who were bidden: Come, for all things are now ready. ¹⁸ And they all, with one mind, began to excuse themselves. The first said to him: I bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee let me be excused. ¹⁹ And another said: I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to make trial of them; I pray thee let me be excused. ²⁰ And another said: I married a wife; and therefore I can not come. ²¹ 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 maimed, and lame, and blind. ²² And the servant said: Lord, it is done as thou didst command, and yet there is room. 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; ²⁴ for I say to you, that none of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper. ²⁵ And great multitudes were going with him; and turning, he said to them: ²⁶ If any one comes to me, and hates not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and even his own life besides, he can not be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, can not be my disciple. ²⁸ For who of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down, and count the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it? ²⁹ Lest haply, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not first sit down and consult, whether he is able, with ten thousand, to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Else, while he is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy, and desires conditions of peace. ³³ So then, whoever of you forsakes not all that he has can not be my disciple. ³⁴ Salt therefore is good; but if even the salt has become tasteless, wherewith shall it be seasoned? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the land, nor for the dunghill; they cast it out. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.