14:1 Now 1 one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine 2 at the house of a leader 3 of the Pharisees, 4 they were watching 5 him closely. 14:2 There 6 right 7 in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 8 14:3 So 9 Jesus asked 10 the experts in religious law 11 and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath 12 or not?” 14:4 But they remained silent. So 13 Jesus 14 took hold of the man, 15 healed him, and sent him away. 16 14:5 Then 17 he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son 18 or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 14:6 But 19 they could not reply 20 to this.
14:7 Then 21 when Jesus 22 noticed how the guests 23 chose the places of honor, 24 he told them a parable. He said to them, 14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, 25 do not take 26 the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. 27 14:9 So 28 the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed, 29 you will begin to move to the least important 30 place. 14:10 But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host 31 approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ 32 Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but 33 the one who humbles 34 himself will be exalted.”
14:12 He 35 said also to the man 36 who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, 37 don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 14:13 But when you host an elaborate meal, 38 invite the poor, the crippled, 39 the lame, and 40 the blind. 41 14:14 Then 42 you will be blessed, 43 because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid 44 at the resurrection of the righteous.”
14:15 When 45 one of those at the meal with Jesus 46 heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone 47 who will feast 48 in the kingdom of God!” 49 14:16 But Jesus 50 said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet 51 and invited 52 many guests. 53 14:17 At 54 the time for the banquet 55 he sent his slave 56 to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 14:18 But one after another they all 57 began to make excuses. 58 The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, 59 and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ 60 14:19 Another 61 said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, 62 and I am going out 63 to examine them. Please excuse me.’ 14:20 Another 64 said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’ 65 14:21 So 66 the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious 67 and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly 68 to the streets and alleys of the city, 69 and bring in the poor, 70 the crippled, 71 the blind, and the lame.’ 14:22 Then 72 the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ 73