Luke 14
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
A Sabbath Controversy
14 One Sabbath, when he went in to eat[a] at the house of one of the leading Pharisees,(A) they were watching him closely.(B) 2 There in front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. 3 In response, Jesus asked the law experts(C) and the Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? ’(D) 4 But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 And to them, he said, ‘Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? ’(E) 6 They could find no answer to these things.
Teachings on Humility
7 He told a parable(F) to those who were invited, when he noticed how they would choose the best places(G) for themselves: 8 ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honour, because a more distinguished person(H) than you may have been invited by your host. 9 The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give your place to this man,” and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.
10 ‘But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” You will then be honoured(I) in the presence of all the other guests.(J) 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’(K)
12 He also said to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet,(L) invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.(M) 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid(N) at the resurrection of the righteous.’(O)
The Parable of the Large Banquet
15 When(P) one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! ’(Q)
16 Then he told him, ‘A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, “Come, because everything is now ready.”
18 ‘But without exception[b] they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.”
19 ‘Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.”
20 ‘And another said, “I just got married,(R) and therefore I’m unable to come.”
21 ‘So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.”(S)
22 ‘ “Master,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.”
23 ‘Then the master told the servant, “Go out into the roads and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet.” ’
The Cost of Following Jesus
25 Now(T) great crowds were travelling with him. So he turned and said to them, 26 ‘If anyone comes to me(U) and does not hate(V) his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, and even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross(W) and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 ‘For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost(X) to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, “This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.”
31 ‘Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce[c] all his possessions(Y) cannot be my disciple.
34 ‘Now,(Z) salt(AA) is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.’(AB)
Luke 14
New International Reader's Version
Jesus Eats at a Pharisee’s House
14 One Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat in the house of a well-known Pharisee. While he was there, he was being carefully watched. 2 In front of him was a man whose body was badly swollen. 3 Jesus turned to the Pharisees and the authorities on the law. He asked them, “Is it breaking the Law to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4 But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man and healed him. Then he sent him away.
5 He asked them another question. He said, “Suppose one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day. Wouldn’t you pull it out right away?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table. So he told them a story. 8 He said, “Suppose someone invites you to a wedding feast. Do not take the place of honor. A person more important than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come to you. He will say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be filled with shame. You will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place. Then your host will come over to you. He will say, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 All those who lift themselves up will be made humble. And those who make themselves humble will be lifted up.”
12 Then Jesus spoke to his host. “Suppose you give a lunch or a dinner,” he said. “Do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, or your relatives, or your rich neighbors. If you do, they may invite you to eat with them. So you will be paid back. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite those who are poor. Also invite those who can’t see or walk. 14 Then you will be blessed. Your guests can’t pay you back. But you will be paid back when those who are right with God rise from the dead.”
The Story of the Great Banquet
15 One of the people at the table with Jesus heard him say those things. So he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in God’s kingdom.”
16 Jesus replied, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet. He invited many guests. 17 Then the day of the banquet arrived. He sent his servant to those who had been invited. The servant told them, ‘Come. Everything is ready now.’
18 “But they all had the same idea. They began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field. I have to go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen. I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry. He ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the town. Bring in those who are poor. Also bring those who can’t see or walk.’
22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done. But there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads. Go out to the country lanes. Make the people come in. I want my house to be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and spoke to them. He said, 26 “Anyone who comes to me must hate their father and mother. They must hate their wife and children. They must hate their brothers and sisters. And they must hate even their own life. Unless they do this, they can’t be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t carry their cross and follow me can’t be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you sit down first and figure out how much it will cost? Then you will see whether you have enough money to finish it. 29 Suppose you start building and are not able to finish. Then everyone who sees what you have done will laugh at you. 30 They will say, ‘This person started to build but wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. And suppose he has 10,000 men, while the other has 20,000 coming against him. Won’t he first sit down and think about whether he can win? 32 And suppose he decides he can’t win. Then he will send some men to ask how peace can be made. He will do this while the other king is still far away. 33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have. Those of you who don’t cannot be my disciple.
34 “Salt is good. But suppose it loses its saltiness. How can it be made salty again? 35 It is not good for the soil. And it is not good for the trash pile. It will be thrown out.
“Whoever has ears should listen.”
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