16 But He said to him, "1A man was giving a bigdinner, and he invitedmany;
17
and at the dinnerhour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is readynow.'
18
"But they allalike*began to makeexcuses. The firstonesaid to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; pleaseconsider me excused.'
19
"Anotheronesaid, 'I have boughtfiveyoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; pleaseconsider me excused.'
20
"Anotheronesaid, '2I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot*come.'
21
"And the slavecame back and reportedthis 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 slavesaid, 'Master, what you commanded has beendone, and still there is room.'
23
"And the mastersaid 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 thosemen who were invited shall taste of my dinner.' "
Discipleship Tested
25Nowlargecrowds were goingalong with Him; and He turned and said to them,
26
"3Ifanyonecomes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his ownlife, he cannot* be My disciple.
27
"Whoever does not 4carry his owncross and comeafter Me cannot* be My disciple.
28
"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not firstsitdown 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, 'Thismanbegan to build and was not able to finish.'
31
"Orwhatking, when he sets out to meetanotherking in battle, will not firstsitdown and 5considerwhether he is strongenough with tenthousand men to encounter the one comingagainst him with twentythousand?
32
"Orelse, while the other is stillfaraway, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
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"Sothen, none* of you can be My disciplewho6does not give up all his ownpossessions.
34
"Therefore, salt is good; but 7ifevensalt has becometasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35
"It is useless*either for the soilor for the manurepile; it is thrown out. 8He who hasears to hear, let him hear."