Luke 14
Christian Standard Bible
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 honor, 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 honored(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 neighbors, 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 highways 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 traveling 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
Tree of Life Version
A Dinner Conversation on Shabbat
14 Now when Yeshua went into the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat a meal on Shabbat, they were watching Him closely. 2 And there before Him was a man swollen with fluid. 3 So Yeshua said to the Torah lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat, or not?”
4 But they kept silent. So Yeshua took hold of him and healed him, and He sent him away. 5 Then He said to them, “Which of you, with a son or an ox falling into a well on Yom Shabbat, will not immediately pull him out?” [a] 6 And they could not reply to these things.
7 Yeshua began telling a parable to those who had been invited, when He noticed how they were choosing the seats of honor. He said to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding, don’t take the seat of honor, for someone more highly esteemed than you may have been invited by him. 9 Then the one who invited both of you will come to you and say, ‘Give up this seat.’ And with shame, you would proceed to take the lowest seat. 10 But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest seat so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you shall be honored in the presence of all those who are dining with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”[b]
12 Then Yeshua was also saying to the one who invited Him, “When you host a luncheon or dinner, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise they might invite you in return as your payback. 13 But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; 14 and you will be blessed, since they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 Now hearing this, one of those dining with Yeshua said to Him, “Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God.”
16 But Yeshua said to him, “A certain man was hosting a large banquet, and he invited many. 17 At the time for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, everything is already prepared.’
18 “But every one of them began to beg off. The first said to him, ‘I bought a farm, and I’m obligated to go out to see it. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ 19 Then another one said, ‘I’ve purchased five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check them out. I’m asking you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I’ve married a wife, so I cannot come.’[c]
21 “The slave came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house got angry and said to his slave, ‘Quickly go out into the squares and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame.’
22 “And the slave said, ‘Master, I have done as you instructed, and still there is room.’
23 “So the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the thoroughfares and fenced areas, and press them to come in so my home may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”
Telling Parables Along the Road
25 Now great crowds were traveling with Yeshua; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters—and yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and figure out the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish everything, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish!’
31 “Or what king, going to make war against another king, won’t first sit down to consider whether he is able with ten thousand to confront the one coming against him with twenty thousand? [d] 32 If not, while the other is still far away, he sends an ambassador and asks for peace. 33 So in the same way, whoever does not renounce all that he has, cannot be My disciple.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if the salt should lose its flavor, how shall it be made salty again? 35 It is not suitable for the soil or for a manure heap—it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Footnotes
- Luke 14:6 cf. Exod. 21:33; Deut. 22:4.
- Luke 14:11 cf. Prov. 29:23.
- Luke 14:20 cf. Deut. 20:5-7; 24:5.
- Luke 14:32 cf. Prov. 20:18.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.