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- 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 thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
- And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
- But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
- For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
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- And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them,
- "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him,
- and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place.
- "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you.
- "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
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- 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 thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
- And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
- And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
- Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
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- And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment.
- "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
- and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
- When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
- But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;
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- And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
- And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
- And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
- And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
- So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
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- and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.'
- "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.'
- "Another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'
- "Another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.'
- "And the slave came back and reported this 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.'
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- And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
- And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
- For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
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- "And the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'
- "And the master said 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.
- 'For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'"
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