Luke 14:7–15:28
7 And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how athey had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, ado not 1take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then ain disgrace you 1proceed to occupy the last place.
10 “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, amove up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who 1are at the table with you.
11 “aFor everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
13 “But when you give a 1reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed, since they 1do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at athe resurrection of the righteous.”
15 When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “aBlessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 But He said to him, “aA man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a 1piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; 2please consider me excused.’
19 “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; 1please consider me excused.’
20 “Another one said, ‘aI have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’
21 “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
22 “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
23 “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
24 ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’ ”
25 Now 1large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them,
26 “aIf anyone comes to Me, and does not 1hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
27 “Whoever does not acarry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and aconsider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends 1a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who adoes not give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but aif even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.”
1 Now all the atax collectors and the 1sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.
2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and aeats with them.”
3 So He told them this parable, saying,
4 “aWhat man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the 1open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which 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 persons who need no repentance.
8 “Or what woman, if she has ten 1silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy ain the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
11 And He said, “A man had two sons.
12 “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me athe share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his 1bwealth between them.
13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
15 “So he went and 1hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the 1pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17 “But when he came to 1his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
18 ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and 1in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’
20 “So he got up and came to 1his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and 2aembraced him and kissed him.
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out athe best robe and put it on him, and bput a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was adead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 “And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 “And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
28 “But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.