rsv Luke:14 SEEK
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One sabbath when he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees ,
they were watching him .
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And behold ,
there was a man before him who had dropsy .
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And Jesus spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees ,
saying , "
Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath ,
or not ?"
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But they were silent .
Then he took him and healed him ,
and let him go .
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And he said to them , "
Which of you ,
having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well ,
will not immediately pull him out on a sabbath day ?"
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And they could not reply to this .
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Now he told a parable to those who were invited ,
when he marked how they chose the places of honor ,
saying to them ,
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When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast ,
do not sit down in a place of honor ,
lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him ;
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and he who invited you both will come and say to you , `
Give place to this man ,'
and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place .
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But when you are invited ,
go and sit in the lowest place ,
so that when your host comes he may say to you , `
Friend ,
go up higher ';
then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you .
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For every one who exalts himself will be humbled ,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted ."
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He said also to the man who had invited him , "
When you give a dinner or a banquet ,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors ,
lest they also invite you in return ,
and you be repaid .
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But when you give a feast ,
invite the poor ,
the maimed ,
the lame ,
the blind ,
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and you will be blessed ,
because they cannot repay you .
You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just ."
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When one of those who sat at table with him heard this ,
he said to him , "
Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God !"
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But he said to him , "
A man once gave a great banquet ,
and invited many ;
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and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited , `
Come ;
for all is now ready .'
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But they all alike began to make excuses .
The first said to him , `
I have bought a field ,
and I must go out and see it ;
I pray you ,
have me excused .'
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And another said , `
I have bought five yoke of oxen ,
and I go to examine them ;
I pray you ,
have me excused .'
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And another said , `
I have married a wife ,
and therefore I cannot come .'
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So the servant came and reported this to his master .
Then the householder in anger said to his servant , `
Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city ,
and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame .'
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And the servant said , `
Sir ,
what you commanded has been done ,
and still there is room .'
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And the master said to the servant , `
Go out to the highways and hedges ,
and compel people to come in ,
that my house may be filled .
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For I tell you ,
none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet .'"
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Now great multitudes accompanied him ;
and he turned and said to them ,
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If any one 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 ,
he cannot be my disciple .
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Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me ,
cannot be my disciple .
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For which of you ,
desiring to build a tower ,
does not first sit down and count the cost ,
whether he has enough to complete it ?
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Otherwise ,
when he has laid a foundation ,
and is not able to finish ,
all who see it begin to mock him ,
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saying , `
This man began to build ,
and was not able to finish .'
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Or what king ,
going to encounter another king in war ,
will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand ?
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And if not ,
while the other is yet a great way off ,
he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace .
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So therefore ,
whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple .
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Salt is good ;
but if salt has lost its taste ,
how shall its saltness be restored ?
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It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill ;
men throw it away .
He who has ears to hear ,
let him hear ."