Jesus Heals a Man with Dropsy 1 UDB One day, which was a day of rest, Jesus went to eat at the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, and they were watching him carefully. BSB BSB: One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.
2 UDB Right there in front of Jesus was a man who had a disease that caused his arms and legs to be very swollen. BSB BSB: Right there before Him was a man with dropsy.
3 UDB Jesus asked the experts in Jewish law and the Pharisees who were present, "Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the day of rest, or not?" BSB BSB: So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
4 UDB They did not reply. So Jesus put his hands on the man and healed him. Then he told him he could go. BSB BSB: But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.
5 UDB And he said to the others there, "If you had a son or an ox that fell into a well on the day of rest, would you not immediately pull him out?" BSB BSB: And He asked them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out?”
6 UDB Again, they were not able to answer him. BSB BSB: And they were unable to answer these questions.
The Parable of the Guests 7 UDB Jesus noticed that the people who had been invited to the meal were choosing to sit in the places where important people usually sit. Then he gave this advice to them: BSB BSB: When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable:
8 UDB "When one of you is invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit in a place where important people sit. It may be that a man more important than you has also been invited to the feast. BSB BSB: “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.
9 UDB When that man comes, the man who invited both of you will come say to you, 'Let this man take your seat!' Then you will have to take the least important seat, and you will be ashamed. BSB BSB: Then the host who invited both of you will come and tell you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.
10 UDB Instead, when you are invited to a feast, go and sit in the least important seat. Then when the man who invited everyone comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, come sit in a better seat!' Then all the people who are eating with you will see that he is honoring you. BSB BSB: But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.
11 UDB For God will humble those who exalt themselves, and he will exalt those who humble themselves." BSB BSB: For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 UDB Jesus also said to the Pharisee who had invited him to the meal, "When you invite people to a midday or evening meal, do not only invite your friends, relatives, or rich neighbors, since they will later repay you by inviting you for a meal. BSB BSB: Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid.
13 UDB Instead, when you give a feast, invite poor people, crippled people, lame people, or blind people. BSB BSB: But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,
14 UDB They will be unable to repay you. But God will bless you! He will repay you at the resurrection of the righteous." BSB BSB: and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Banquet (Matthew 22:1–14)
15 UDB One of those who were eating with him heard him say that. He said to Jesus, "God has truly blessed everyone who will eat the feast to celebrate that God has begun to rule everywhere!" BSB BSB: When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 UDB Jesus replied to him, "One time a man decided to prepare a large feast. He invited many people to come. BSB BSB: But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests.
17 UDB When it was the day for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come now because everything is ready!' BSB BSB: When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 UDB "But when the servant did that, all of the people whom he had invited began to say why they could not come. The first man that the servant went to said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go there and see it. Please ask your master to forgive me for not coming!' BSB BSB: But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’
19 UDB "Another person said, 'I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I must go to examine them. Please ask your master to forgive me for not coming!' BSB BSB: Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 UDB "Another person said, 'I have just been married, so I cannot come.' BSB BSB: Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’
21 UDB "So the servant returned to his master and reported what everyone had said. The owner of the house was angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city and find poor and crippled and blind and lame people, and bring them here into my house!' BSB BSB: The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 UDB "After the servant went out and did that, he came back and said, 'Sir, I have done what you told me to do, but there is still room for more people.' BSB BSB: ‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’
23 UDB "So his master said to him, 'Then go outside the city. Search for people along the highways. Search also along the narrow roads with hedges. Strongly urge the people in those places to come to my house. I want it to be full of people! BSB BSB: So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
24 UDB Moreover I tell you this, the ones who were invited first will not get to enjoy my feast because they refused to come.'" BSB BSB: For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”
The Cost of Discipleship (Matthew 8:18–22; Luke 9:57–62; John 6:59–66)
27 UDB Whoever does not carry his own cross and whoever does not obey me cannot be my disciple. BSB BSB: And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
28 UDB If one of you desired to build a tower, would you not first sit down and determine how much it would cost? Then you would be able to determine whether you had enough money to complete it. BSB BSB: Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?
29 UDB Otherwise, if you laid the foundation and were not able to finish the rest of the tower, everyone who saw it would make fun of you. BSB BSB: Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
30 UDB They would say, 'This man started to build a tower, but he was not able to finish it!' BSB BSB: saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’
31 UDB "Or, if a king decided to send his army to war against another king, he would surely first sit down with those who advised him. They would determine whether his army, which had only ten thousand soldiers, could defeat the other king's army, which had twenty thousand soldiers. BSB BSB: Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 UDB If he decided his army could not defeat the other army, he would send a messenger to the other king while the other army was still far away. He would tell the messenger to say to that king, 'What things must I do to have peace with you?' BSB BSB: And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.
33 UDB So, similarly, if any one of you does not first decide that you are willing to give up all that you have, you cannot be my disciple." BSB BSB: In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.
Good Salt (Matthew 5:13–16; Mark 9:49–50)
34 UDB Jesus also said, "You are like salt, which is very useful. But if salt were to lose its saltiness, could it ever be made to taste salty again? BSB BSB: Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned?
35 UDB If salt does not taste salty anymore, it is no longer any good even for the soil or manure heap. People just throw it away. Every one of you should think carefully about what you just heard me say!" BSB BSB: It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”