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 you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down [to eat] at the place of honor, since a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by the 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.

But when thou hast been invited, go and put thyself down in the last place, that when he who has invited thee comes, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have honour before all that are lying at table with thee;

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted.”

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.

But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind,

and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous."

And one of those that were lying at table with them, hearing these things, said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

upon which Jesus said, a certain man made a great entertainment; where many were invited.

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

And they all gave reasons why they were not able to come. The first said to him, I have got a new field, and it is necessary for me to go and see it: I am full of regret that I am unable to come.

And the servant came back and gave his master an account of these things. Then the master of the house was angry and said to the servant, Go out quickly into the streets of the town and get the poor, the blind, and those who are broken in body.

And the servant said, Lord, your orders have been done, and still there is room.

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

And there were going on with him great multitudes, and having turned, he said unto them,

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple.

lest that he having laid a foundation, and not being able to finish, all who are beholding may begin to mock him,

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?

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

It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”

Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near unto him to hear him.

and the Pharisees and the scribes were murmuring, saying -- This one doth receive sinners, and doth eat with them.'

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if one of them gets loose and goes away, will not let the ninety-nine be in the waste land by themselves, and go after the wandering one, till he sees where it is?

Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?

The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of your property.' He divided his livelihood between them.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living.

And he longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; and no one gave to him.

I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

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.’

and get the calf we are fattening, and kill it, and let us feast and celebrate,

For this, my son, who was dead, is living again; he had gone away from me, and has come back. And they were full of joy.

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.’

But he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

but when this [other] son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you slaughtered that fattened calf for him!’

'And he said to him, Child, thou art always with me, and all my things are thine;

But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.'"

Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master’s] possessions.

So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.’

"So he called all his master's debtors, one by one, and asked the first, 'How much are you in debt to my master?'

He said, ‘A hundred measures of [olive] oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’

Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Therefore, I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using worldly wealth, so that when it fails [i.e., when you run out of money] they [i.e., the friends you made with its wise and benevolent use] may welcome you into the eternal [i.e., heavenly] dwelling places. [Note: The idea here seems to be that by your shrewd use of material possessions for the benefit of others, you are actually storing up treasures for yourself in heaven].

If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

and desiring to be filled from the crumbs that are falling from the table of the rich man; yea, also the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.

In the afterlife, where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side.

But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony.

and besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm is fixed, so that they who are willing to go over from hence unto you are not able, nor do they from thence to us pass through.

upon which he said, father, I beg it of you, that you would send him to my father's family, where I have five brothers,

where I have five brothers. Then he could warn them so that they will not [have to] come to this [terrible] place of torment also.'

But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets; let them give ear to what they say.

'But, Father Abraham,' he urged, 'if some one from the dead were to go to them, they would repent.'

"'If they are deaf to Moses and the Prophets,' replied Abraham, 'they would not be led to believe even if some one should rise from the dead.'"

Jesus said to His disciples, “Stumbling blocks [temptations and traps set to lure one to sin] are sure to come, but woe (judgment is coming) to him through whom they come!

It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

Pay attention and always be on guard [looking out for one another]! If your brother sins and disregards God’s precepts, solemnly warn him; and if he repents and changes, forgive him.

And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

"If your faith," replied the Lord, "is like a mustard seed, you might command this black-mulberry-tree, 'Tear up your roots and plant yourself in the sea,' and instantly it would obey you.

But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

Of course not. Instead, he would say to him, "Get dinner ready for me, and put on your apron and wait on me until I eat and drink. Then you can eat and drink.'

Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

Jesus our master, take pity on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And he fell on his face at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. And he was a Samaritan. [Note: Samaritans were despised by the Jews and regarded as a 'half-breeds'].

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

Jesus said to him, “Get up and go [on your way]. Your faith [your personal trust in Me and your confidence in God’s power] has restored you to health.”

Now having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed or with a visible display;

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

And he said to the disciples, Days are coming, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and shall not see it.

And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.

Ior as the lightning that lightneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth to the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

in like manner also, as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

On that day, whoever is on the housetop and his goods [are] in the house must not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who [is] in the field must not turn back

There will be two women grinding grain together [Note: This was done with a hand-operated millstone where two persons sat across from each other and rotated a circular stone over kernels of grain]; one will be taken while the other one will be left. {{Some ancient manuscripts include verse

And they answered, and said to him, "Where Lord?" And he said unto them,

And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

And he made a story for them, the point of which was that men were to go on making prayer and not get tired;

saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and had no respect for man.

For a time he would not; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,

yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming.

And the Lord said, Give ear to the words of the evil judge.

and shall not God execute the justice to His choice ones, who are crying unto Him day and night -- bearing long in regard to them?

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

"Two men are going up to the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, the other a tax-gatherer.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast [i.e., going without food and/or drink for religious reasons] twice a week and I give [to God's work] a tenth of everything I get.'

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me—a sinner!’

I say to you, Went this man down to his house justified, or the other? for every one who exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.