Luke 14
English Standard Version
Healing of a Man on the Sabbath
14 One Sabbath, (A)when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were (B)watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to (C)the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, (D)“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, (E)“Which of you, having a son[a] or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 (F)And they could not reply to these things.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed (G)how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, (H)so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For (I)everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give (J)a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers[b] or your relatives or rich neighbors, (K)lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, (L)invite (M)the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid (N)at (O)the resurrection of the just.”
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, (P)“Blessed is everyone who will (Q)eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, (R)“A man once (S)gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he (T)sent his servant[c] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, (U)‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in (V)the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you,[d] (W)none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 (X)“If anyone comes to me and (Y)does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, (Z)yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 (AA)Whoever does not (AB)bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not (AC)first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not (AD)sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 (AE)So therefore, any one of you who (AF)does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Salt Without Taste Is Worthless
34 (AG)“Salt is good, (AH)but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. (AI)He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Footnotes
- Luke 14:5 Some manuscripts a donkey
- Luke 14:12 Or your brothers and sisters
- Luke 14:17 Or bondservant; also verses 21 (twice), 22, 23
- Luke 14:24 The Greek word for you here is plural
Luke 14
Easy-to-Read Version
Is It Right to Heal on the Sabbath Day?
14 On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of a leading Pharisee to eat with him. The people there were all watching him very closely. 2 A man with a bad disease[a] was there in front of him. 3 Jesus said to the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?” 4 But they would not answer his question. So he took the man and healed him. Then he sent the man away. 5 Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “If your son or work animal falls into a well on the Sabbath day, you know you would pull him out immediately.” 6 The Pharisees and teachers of the law could say nothing against what he said.
Don’t Make Yourself Important
7 Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. 9 And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat!’ Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed.
10 “So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to this better place!’ What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests. 11 Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.”
You Will Be Rewarded
12 Then Jesus said to the Pharisee who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. At another time they will pay you back by inviting you to eat with them. 13 Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, and the blind. 14 Then you will have great blessings, because these people cannot pay you back. They have nothing. But God will reward you at the time when all godly people rise from death.”
A Story About People Invited to a Dinner(A)
15 One of the men sitting at the table with Jesus heard these things. The man said to him, “It will be a great blessing for anyone to eat a meal in God’s kingdom!”
16 Jesus said to him, “A man gave a big dinner. He invited many people. 17 When it was time to eat, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come. The food is ready.’ 18 But all the guests said they could not come. Each one made an excuse. The first one said, ‘I have just bought a field, so I must go look at it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another man said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of work animals; I must go and try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 A third man said, ‘I just got married; I can’t come.’
21 “So the servant returned and told his master what happened. The master was angry. He said, ‘Hurry! Go into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring me the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 “Later, the servant said to him, ‘Master, I did what you told me to do, but we still have places for more people.’ 23 The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full! 24 I tell you, not one of those people I invited first will eat any of this food I prepared.’”
Decide if You Can Follow Me(B)
25 Many people were traveling with Jesus. He said to them, 26 “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—even more than your own life! 27 Whoever will not carry the cross that is given to them when they follow me cannot be my follower.
28 “If you wanted to build a building, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don’t do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘This man began to build, but he was not able to finish.’
31 “If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If he has only 10,000 men, he will try to decide if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. 32 If he thinks he cannot defeat the other king, he will send some men to ask for peace while that king’s army is still far away.
33 “It is the same for each of you. You must leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower.
Don’t Lose Your Influence(C)
34 “Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, you can’t make it salty again. 35 It is worth nothing. You can’t even use it as dirt or dung. People just throw it away.
“You people who hear me, listen!”
Footnotes
- Luke 14:2 disease The man had dropsy, a sickness that causes the body to swell larger and larger.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International