Parable of the Marriage Feast

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. ³ And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, ¹² and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ ¹⁴ For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”