^14:1Now¹ one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine² at the house of a leader³ of the Pharisees,⁴ they were watching⁵ him closely. ^14:2There⁶ right⁷ in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.⁸^14:3So⁹ Jesus asked¹⁰ the experts in religious law¹¹ and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath¹² or not?” ^14:4But they remained silent. So¹³ Jesus¹⁴ took hold of the man,¹⁵ healed him, and sent him away.¹⁶^14:5Then¹⁷ he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son¹⁸ or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ^14:6But¹⁹ they could not reply²⁰ to this.

On Seeking Seats of Honor

^14:7Then²¹ when Jesus²² noticed how the guests²³ 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 take²⁶ the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host.²⁷^14:9So²⁸ 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 important³⁰ place.

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Footnotes

1 Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 Grk “to eat bread,” an idiom for participating in a meal.
3 Grk “a ruler of the Pharisees.” He was probably a synagogue official.
4 See the note on Pharisees in .
5 Watching … closely is a graphic term meaning to lurk and watch; see Luke 11:53–54.
6 Grk “And there.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7 Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement adds interest and emphasis ( 1). Here it has been translated as “right” in the phrase “right in front of him,” giving a similar effect of vividness in the translation.
8 The condition called dropsy involves swollen limbs resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the body’s tissues, especially the legs.
9 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ question was prompted by the man’s appearance).
10 Grk “Jesus, answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English. In addition, since the context does not describe a previous question to Jesus (although one may well be implied), the phrase has been translated here as “Jesus asked.”
11 That is, experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (traditionally, “lawyers”).
12 “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Will the Pharisees and experts in religious law defend tradition and speak out against doing good on the Sabbath? Has anything at all been learned since Luke 13:10–17? Has repentance come (13:6–9)?
13 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ healing the man was in response to their refusal to answer).
14 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 Grk “taking hold [of the man].” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomenos) has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.
16 Or “and let him go.”
17 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
18 Here “son,” found in 𝔓45, 75 (A) B W 𝔐, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ f1, 13 33 579 892 1241 2542 lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”
19 καί (kai) has been translated here as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. The experts, who should be expected to know the law, are unable to respond to Jesus’ question.
20 They could not reply. Twice in the scene, the experts remain silent (see v. 4). That, along with the presence of power working through Jesus, serves to indicate endorsement of his work and message.
21 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
22 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Grk “those who were invited.”
24 Or “the best places.” The “places of honor” at the meal would be those closest to the host.
25 Or “banquet.” This may not refer only to a wedding feast, because this term can have broader sense (note the usage in Esth 2:18; 9:22 ). However, this difference does not affect the point of the parable.
26 Grk “do not recline in the place of honor.” 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
27 Grk “by him”; the referent (the host) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 Grk “host, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate this action is a result of the situation described in the previous verse. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
29 Or “then in disgrace”; Grk “with shame.” In this culture avoiding shame was important.
30 Grk “lowest place” (also in the repetition of the phrase in the next verse).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say.

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

One Sabbath, when he went in to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching him closely. There in front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. In response, Jesus asked the law experts and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. And to them, he said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” They could find no answer to these things.

He told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves: “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honor, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.

NLTNew Living Translation

One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Again they could not answer.

When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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, they were watching him closely. And behold, a certain man was in front of him, suffering from edema. And Jesus answered and said to the legal experts and Pharisees, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. And he took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And he said to them, “Who among you, if your son or your ox falls into a well on the day of the Sabbath, will not immediately pull him out?” And they were not able to make a reply to these things.

Now he told a parable to those who had been invited when he noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, and the one who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give the place to this person,’ and then with shame you will begin to take the last place.

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things.

And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

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