Matthew 22:2–14

²“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. ³He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the feast, but they did not want to come. ⁴So he sent other servants with this message for the guests: ‘My feast is ready now; my bullocks and prize calves have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!’ ⁵But the invited guests paid no attention and went about their business: one went to his farm, another to his shop, ⁶while others grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. ⁷The king was very angry; so he sent his soldiers, who killed those murderers and burnt down their city. ⁸Then he called his servants and said to them, ‘My wedding feast is ready, but the people I invited did not deserve it. ⁹Now go to the main streets and invite to the feast as many people as you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike; and the wedding hall was filled with people.

¹¹“The king went in to look at the guests and saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹²‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ the king asked him. But the man said nothing. ^13*Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark. There he will cry and grind his teeth.’ ”

¹⁴And Jesus concluded, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”