Beginning
A Man Suffering from Edema Healed
14 And it happened that when he came to the house of a certain one of the leaders of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat a meal,[a] they were watching him closely. 2 And behold, a certain man was in front of him, suffering from edema. 3 And Jesus answered and[b] said to the legal experts and Pharisees, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. And he took hold of him[c] and[d] healed him, and sent him[e] away. 5 And he said to them, “Who among you, if your[f] son or your ox falls into a well[g] on the day of the Sabbath, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they were not able to make a reply to these things.
The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding Feast
7 Now he told a parable to those who had been invited when he[h] noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,[i] do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, 9 and the one who invited you both[j] will come and[k] say to you, ‘Give the place to this person,’ and then with shame you will begin to take the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and[l] recline at the table in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then it will be an honor to you in the presence of all those who are reclining at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 And he also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. 13 But whenever you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 Now when[m] one of those reclining at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who[n] will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A certain man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 And he sent his slave at the hour of the banquet to say to those who have been invited, ‘Come, because now it is ready!’ 18 And they all alike[o] began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field, and I must[p] go out to look at it. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and for this reason I am not able to come.’ 21 And the slave came and[q] reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and[r] said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame!’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and press them[s] to come in, so that my house will be filled! 24 For I say to you that none of those persons who were invited will taste my banquet!’”
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now large crowds were going along with him, and he turned around and[t] said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and furthermore, even his own life, he cannot be[u] my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow[v] me cannot be[w] my disciple. 28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and[x] calculate the cost to see if he has enough[y] to complete it?[z] 29 Otherwise[aa] after[ab] he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it,[ac] all who see it[ad] will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, going out to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first and[ae] deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand. 32 But if not, while[af] the other is still far away, he sends an ambassador and[ag] asks for terms of[ah] peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be[ai] my disciple.
34 “Now salt is good, but if salt becomes tasteless, with what will it be made salty? 35 It is usable neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were drawing near to hear him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!”
3 So he told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the grassland and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? 5 And when he[aj] has found it,[ak] he places it[al] on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he[am] returns to his[an] home, he calls together his[ao] friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 Or what woman who has ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?[ap] 9 And when she[aq] has found it,[ar] she calls together her[as] friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma that I had lost!’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Lost Son
11 And he said, “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his[at] father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.’ So he divided his[au] assets between them. 13 And after not many days, the younger son gathered everything and[av] went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth by[aw] living wastefully. 14 And after[ax] he had spent everything, there was a severe famine throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 And he went and[ay] hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to tend pigs. 16 And he was longing to fill his stomach with[az] the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving anything[ba] to him.
17 “But when he[bb] came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have an abundance of food,[bc] and I am dying here from hunger! 18 I will set out and[bd] go to my father and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight![be] 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son! Make me like one of your hired workers.’ 20 And he set out and[bf] came to his own father. But while[bg] he was still a long way away, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him[bh] and kissed him. 21 And his[bi] son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight![bj] I am no longer worthy to be called your son!’ 22 But his[bk] father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it[bl] on him, and put a ring on his finger[bm] and sandals on his[bn] feet! 23 And bring the fattened calf—kill it[bo] and let us eat and[bp] celebrate, 24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and[bq] approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he summoned one of the slaves and[br] asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has gotten him back healthy.’ 28 But he became angry and did not want to go in. So his father came out and[bs] began to implore[bt] him. 29 But he answered and[bu] said to his father, ‘Behold, so many years I have served you, and have never disobeyed your command! And you never gave me a young goat so that I could celebrate with my friends! 30 But when this son of yours returned—who has consumed your assets with prostitutes—you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘Child, you are always with me, and everything I have belongs to you.[bv] 32 But it was necessary to celebrate and to rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead, and is alive, and was lost, and is found!’”
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 And he also said to the disciples, “A certain man was rich, who had a manager. And charges were brought to him that this person was squandering his possessions. 2 And he summoned him and[bw] said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your management, because you can no longer manage.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, because my master is taking away the management from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I should do, so that when I am removed from the management they will welcome me into their homes!’ 5 And he summoned each one of his own master’s debtors and[bx] said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your promissory note and sit down quickly and[by] write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your promissory note and write eighty.’ 8 And the master praised the dishonest manager, because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are shrewder than the sons of light with regard to their own generation.[bz] 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “The one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?[ca] 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you your own? 13 No domestic slave is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.”
Hypocrisy, Law, and the Kingdom of God
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are the ones who justify themselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts! For what is considered exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16 “The law and the prophets were until John; from that time on the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently pressed[cb] into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the law to become invalid.
On Divorce
18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. 20 And a certain poor man named[cc] Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, 21 and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and[cd] licked his sores. 22 Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.[ce] And the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he[cf] was in torment and[cg] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side.[ch] 24 And he called out and[ci] said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. 26 And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so,[cj] nor can they cross over from there to us.’ 27 So he said, ‘Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.’”
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