Matthew 22:1-14
New American Standard Bible
Parable of the Marriage Feast
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]is like [b]a king who [c]held a (B)wedding feast for his son. 3 And he (C)sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he (D)sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own [d]farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them. 7 Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to (E)the main roads, and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with [e]dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the [f]dinner guests, he saw (F)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘(G)Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into (H)the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place.’ 14 For many are [g](I)called, but few are (J)chosen.”
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- Matthew 22:2 Lit has been compared to
- Matthew 22:2 Lit a man, a king
- Matthew 22:2 Lit made
- Matthew 22:5 Or field
- Matthew 22:10 Lit those reclining at the table
- Matthew 22:11 Lit those reclining at the table
- Matthew 22:14 Or invited
Matthew 22:1-14
New English Translation
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke[a] to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves[b] to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready.[c] My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The[d] rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The[e] king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death[f] and set their city[g] on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say.[h] 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness,[i] where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
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- Matthew 22:1 tn Grk “And answering again, Jesus spoke.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
- Matthew 22:3 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
- Matthew 22:4 tn Grk “Behold, I have prepared my meal.” In some contexts, however, to translate ἄριστον (ariston) as “meal” or “dinner” somewhat misses the point. L&N 23.22 here suggests, “See now, the feast I have prepared (for you is ready).”
- Matthew 22:6 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 22:7 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 22:7 tn Grk “he sent his soldiers, destroyed those murderers.” The verb ἀπώλεσεν (apōlesen) is causative, indicating that the king was the one behind the execution of the murderers. In English the causative idea is not expressed naturally here; either a purpose clause (“he sent his soldiers to put those murderers to death”) or a relative clause (“he sent his soldier who put those murderers to death”) is preferred.
- Matthew 22:7 tn The Greek text reads here πόλις (polis), which could be translated “town” or “city.” The prophetic reference is to the city of Jerusalem, so “city” is more appropriate here.
- Matthew 22:12 tn Grk “he was silent.”
- Matthew 22:13 tn The Greek term translated “darkness” (σκότος) is associated with Tartarus in Aeschylus, Eumenides 72; other references to the darkness of death and the underworld can be found throughout the classical literature as far back as Homer. BDAG 932 s.v. σκότος 1 states: “Of the darkness of the place of punishment far removed fr. the heavenly kingdom (Philo, Exsecr. 152 βαθὺ σκότος. Cp. Wsd 17:20; PsSol 14:9.—σκ. κ. βόρβορος ‘gloom and muck’ await those who are untrue to the Eleusinian Mysteries, Ael. Aristid. 22, 10 K.=19 p. 421 D. Of the darkness of death and the underworld in Hom. and the Trag. As the domain of evil spirits PGM 36, 138; Theoph. Ant. 2, 7 [p. 110, 5]) τὸ σκ. τὸ ἐξώτερον the darkness outside Mt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30.”
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