1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they watched him.
2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
3 And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, »Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?«
4 But they kept silent. And he took him and healed him, and let him go.
5 Then he said to them, »Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?«
6 And they could not reply to this.
7 So he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noted how they chose the places of honor, saying to them:
8 »When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest one more distinguished than you be invited by him;
9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, Give place to this man, 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, so that when your host comes he may say to you, Friend, go up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.«
12 Then he also said to the one who invited him, »When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers, your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.«
15 When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, »Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!«
16 Then he said to him, »A certain man gave a great banquet and invited many.
17 And at the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for all 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. I ask you to have me excused.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.
20 Still another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
21 So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and the maimed, the blind and the lame.
22 And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.
23 Then the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.«
25 Now great multitudes went with him; and he turned and said to them,
26 »If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid the 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 to make war against another king, will not sit down first and consider 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 still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks terms of peace.
33 So likewise, whoever of you does not give up all that he has cannot be my disciple.
34 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall it be seasoned?
35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!«