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¹ And it occurred, that, as he entered the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread, on the sabbath day, they watched him.² And lo, a dropsical man was before him.³ And Jews answered, and said to the Scribes and Pharisees: Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?⁴ And they were silent. And he took him, and healed him, and dismissed him.⁵ And he said to them: Which of you, if his son or his ox fall into a pit on the sabbath day, doth not immediately lift and draw him out?⁶ And they could give him no answer to that.

⁷ And he spoke a similitude to the guests that were present, as he noticed how they chose places on the highest couches.⁸ When thou art invited by any one to a house of feasting, go not and recline on the highest couch; lest there should be invited there, one more honorable than thou;⁹ and he that invited both him and thee come and say to thee, Give place to this man; and thou be ashamed, when thou risest, and takest a lower couch.¹⁰ But when thou art invited, go and recline on the lowest [fn] ; that when he who invited thee come, he may say to thee: My friend, come up higher and recline. And thou wilt have honor, before all that recline with thee. ¹¹ For, every one that exalteth himself, will be humbled: and every one that humbleth himself, will be exalted.¹² And he said to him that invited him: When thou makest a dinner or a supper, invite not thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy relatives, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also invite thee, and thou have this recompense.¹³ But when thou makest a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.¹⁴ And thou wilt be blessed. For they cannot recompense thee; but thy recompense will be at the resurrection of the just.

¹⁵ And when one of those reclining heard these things, he said to him: Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.¹⁶ Jesus said to him: A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.¹⁷ And at the time for supper, he sent his servant to say to those invited: Lo, every thing is ready for you; come.¹⁸ And they all to a man, began to excuse themselves. The first said to him: I have bought a field, and am constrained to go out and see it. I pray thee, allow me to be excused.¹⁹ Another said: I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to inspect them. I pray thee, allow me to be excused.²⁰ Another said: I have married a wife, and on this account I cannot come.²¹ And the servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the lord of the house was angry: and he said to his servant, Go out quickly into the market-places and streets of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the diseased, and the lame, and the blind.²² And the servant said: My lord, it is done as thou commandedst; and still there is room.²³ And the lord said to his servant: Go out to the by-paths, and among the hedges, and constrain them to come in; that my house may be filled.²⁴ For I declare to you, that not one of those men that were invited, shall taste of my supper.

²⁵ And when great multitudes were travelling with him, he turned himself, and said to them:²⁶ He that cometh to me, and hateth not his father and his mother, and his brothers and his sisters, and his wife and his children, and his own life also, cannot become a disciple to me.²⁷ And he that doth not take up his cross and come after me, cannot become a disciple to me.²⁸ For, which of you, wishing to build a tower, doth not first sit down and compute the expense, whether he have the means to complete it?²⁹ lest, when he hath laid the foundation, and is unable to finish, all that see it begin to deride him;³⁰ and say: This man began to build, and was unable to finish.³¹ Or what king, that is going to contend in battle with his neighbor king, doth not first consider, whether he is able, with ten thousand, to meet him that is coming against him with twenty thousand?³² and if not; while he is yet far from him, he sendeth envoys, and sueth for peace.³³ So every one of you who doth not give up all his possessions, cannot be my disciple.³⁴ Salt is a good thing: but if the salt itself hath become insipid, wherewith shall it be salted?³⁵ It is fit for neither the earth, nor the dunghill. They cast it away. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.