Luke, 14

1. 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.

1. One sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.

2. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.

2. In front of him was a man suffering from dropsy;

3. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

3. so Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath or not?"

4. And they held their peace. And he took [him], and healed him, and let him go;

4. But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him and sent him away.

5. 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?

5. And he addressed them, "If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a sabbath day, who among you doesn't hurry to pull it out?"

6. And they could not answer him again to these things.

6. And they could not answer.

7. And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

7. Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said,

8. 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;

8. "When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited,

9. 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.

9. and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you: 'Please give this person your place.' What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!

10. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

10. Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you: 'Friend, you must come up higher.' And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests.

11. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

11. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised."

12. Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor [thy] rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

12. Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him and said, "When you give a lunch or a dinner, don't invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives and wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid.

13. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:

13. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.

14. And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

14. Fortunate are you then, because they can't repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright."

15. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed [is] he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

15. Upon hearing these words, one of those at the table said to Jesus, "Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!"

16. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

16. Jesus replied, "A man once gave a feast and invited many guests.

17. And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

17. When it was time for the feast he sent his servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready.

18. And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

18. But all alike began to make excuses. The first said: 'Please excuse me. I must go and see the piece of land I have just bought.'

19. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

19. Another said: 'I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.'

20. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

20. Still another said, 'How can I come when I have just married?'

21. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

21. The servant returned alone and reported this to his master. Upon hearing the account, the master of the house flew into a rage and ordered his servant: 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

22. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

22. The servant reported after a while: 'Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.'

23. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to come in, that my house may be filled.

23. The master said: 'Go out to the highways and country lanes and force people to come in, to make sure my house is full.

24. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

24. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast."

25. And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

25. One day, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, he turned and said to them,

26. If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

26. "If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple.

27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

27. Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross cannot be my disciple.

28. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]?

28. Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost to see whether you have enough to complete it?

29. Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him,

29. Otherwise, if you have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you:

30. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

30. 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

31. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

31. And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent?

32. Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

32. And if not, while the other is still a long way off he sends messengers for peace talks.

33. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

33. In the same way, none of you may become my disciple if he doesn't give up everything he has.

34. Salt [is] good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

34. However good the salt may be, if it has lost its taste, you cannot make it salty again.

35. It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; [but] men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

35. It is fit for neither soil nor manure. Let them throw it away. Listen then, if you have ears!"